Latitude 15.09°N (Longitude 108.5°E)

Annotation

Recorded in Bennington, Vermont, on 25 May 1970, the title "Latitude 15.09°N (Longitude 108.5°E)" referred to the geographical location of My Lai, as indicated on the map on the front cover of this LP. Written and conducted by Louis Calabro, born 1 November 1926, in Brooklyn, New York. He died on 21 October 1991 in Bennington, Vermont. The lyrics reflected the well-known photographs of the massacre, taking an anti-war perspective: "deep in the red mud...yellow eye rolled out...dead children". The back of record said: "the oratorio was written in reaction to the incident at My Lai. My first thoughts on seeing the pictures of the 'alleged' massacre were of sheer horror and disbelief. I was appalled by the naivete and shallowness of all political systems, and by their instability to cope humanely and compassionately with the problems and conflicts which confront us. As with all victims in all massacres, the My Lai people will be outrageously forgotten and, as usual, man will have learned little or nothing. This work is no more than a simple bouquet in dedication to a people I have never known and yet have known all my life".

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Notes

Title referred to the geographical location of My Lai, as indicated on the map on the front cover of this LP

About the artist

Born 1 November 1926, in Brooklyn, New York. He died on 21 October 1991 in Bennington, Vermont.

Themes

My Lai · Anti-Calley

In collections

My Lai & Lt. William Calley Songs · Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs