Bummer
1975 · Elektra 7E-1041 · New York City, New York
- Artist
- Harry Chapin
- Title
- Bummer
- Release
- Portrait Gallery
- Year
- 1975
- Label
- Elektra # 7E-1041
- Format
- LP · Album
- Language
- English
- Country
- New York City, New York, USA
- Genre
- Rock · Folk Rock
- Primary theme
- Post-War
Annotation
The song "Bummer" (Elektra Records # 7E-1041) described a young man who got involved in crime, selling drugs and working in prostitution. But he was then drafted to war, fought and received a medal, and then struggled to readjust to society in the aftermath. It began with the draft call: "he was A-1 bait for Vietnam". Note the reference to "1-A" - the classification for those "eligible for military service", established in 1971 (under the Military Selective Service Act of 1967). (1) The narrator then described the man's activities in Vietnam: "mission was to Search and Destroy....to catch the gooks". He received the Purple Heart and the Congressional Medal of Honor. Back home after the war, the veteran got some jobs on the back of his military honors, but the narrator recalled him being financially cut-off from the Veteran's Administration: "the V.A. stopped sending...cheques". The song concluded with the veteran returning to what he knew best, crime - by robbing a grocery store. Chapin - born in New York City (7 December 1942), he died in Jericho, New York on 16 July 1981.
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
About the artist
American singer-songwriter, born 7 December 1942 in New York City; died 16 July 1981 in Jericho, New York. [Source: Wikipedia]