Babies of My Lai
Sterling S-547 · Boston, Massachusetts
- Artist
- Burns, Norm & the Satellites
- Title
- Babies of My Lai
- Release
- The Babies of My Lai
- Label
- Sterling # S-547
- Format
- 7" · Single
- Language
- English
- Country
- Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Genre
- Traditional Pop · Easy Listening · Traditional Pop
- Primary theme
- Peace, Protest & Anti-War
Annotation
Another song-poem about My Lai, released in Boston, Massachusetts - these are song lyrics, sent to specialist publishing and recoding companies, usually in response to an advertisement, that have been set to music for a fee (around $200-400). (1) Composed by Ann Parks and Lew Tobin (he co-founded the label with Shelley Stuart, and he presumably took the writing credit for the music side). Performed by Norm Burns & The Satelites. The track, called "The Babies of My Lai" (Sterling Records # S-547), probably released in either late 1971 or early 1972 (based on the label discography), focused on the death of the children at the massacre. The narrator sarcastically said that "a little baby raised it gun" and so a soldier "raised his weapon in defense". The narrator mourned the deaths: "sleep baby sleep", and declared to "never forget what has been done". The lyrics did not mention or comment on William Calley's trial, but it leaned towards criticising his actions, and therefore it fell into the anti-Calley camp.
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
About the artist
Norm Burns, American song-poem vocalist: lead house singer for the Sterling Records song-poem label in the 1960s-70s, here with the Satellites; personal biographical details not documented. [Source: songpoemmusic.com (AS/PMA)]
Themes
My Lai · Anti-War · Song Poem · Anti-Calley
In collections
My Lai & Lt. William Calley Songs · Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs