Chicago Policeman

Annotation

The song "Chicago Policeman" (Swank # HFCS-167) by Harry Burgess is a traditional pop song-poem - these are song lyrics, sent to specialist publishing and recording companies, usually in response to an advertisement, that have been set to music for a fee. Hundreds of them dealt with political issues, including the Vietnam War. This one was released soon after the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. The original vinyl 7" is rare and was backed by another Vietnam War song: "Foreign Policy" by Valerie & Everett Hull.12 It featured on the 2003 compilation "Only in America, Volume 2" (Arf! Arf! Records # AA-092). This song recalled the demonstrations in Chicago '68, narrated in the first person, from the perspective of a policeman. It contained elements of satire, but overall defended the position of the police. He started sarcastically explaining why he joined the force: "to wear a star and a uniform", and have a car with a "big loud horn". Eventually, after studying hard, he achieved his goal, and for his first big job was assigned to the Convention. There, the narrator claimed that the police faced trouble "from hippies and yippies and communist". He criticised the protesters who raised the flag of the Vietcong - officially known as the National Liberation Front (NFL), the political and military resistance to the US and South Vietnamese government from within South Vietnam. The narrator then claimed that the protesters had "weapons of war, with spikes, bottles, blades", and thus posed a threat, while the Mayor Richard J. Daley did not want Chicago ruined. The song concluded by saying that the police did the best they could, and that "mobs like these" cannot be allowed to "roam, to ruin our country, churches and homes". Thanks to Phil Milstein for providing the digital files.Sources1Song Poem Music↩2WFMU 365 Days Project: Harry Burgess — Chicago Policeman (#183)↩

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Annotation — Song Poems

The song "Chicago Policeman" (Swank # HFCS-167), performed by Harry Burgess, and composed by Everett Hull, is a traditional pop song-poem. This one was released soon after the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. The original vinyl 7" is rare and was backed by another Vietnam War song: "Foreign Policy" by Valerie & Everett Hull.12 It featured on the 2003 compilation "Only in America, Volume 2" (Arf! Arf! Records # AA-092). This song recalled the demonstrations in Chicago '68, narrated in the first person, from the perspective of a policeman. It contained elements of satire, but overall defended the position of the police. He started sarcastically explaining why he joined the force: "to wear a star and a uniform", and have a car with a "big loud horn". Eventually, after studying hard, he achieved his goal, and for his first big job was assigned to the Convention. There, the narrator claimed that the police faced trouble "from hippies and yippies and communist". He criticised the protesters who raised the flag of the Vietcong - officially known as the National Liberation Front (NFL), the political and military resistance to the US and South Vietnamese government from within South Vietnam. The narrator then claimed that the protesters had "weapons of war, with spikes, bottles, blades", and thus posed a threat, while the Mayor Richard J. Daley did not want Chicago ruined. The song concluded by saying that the police did the best they could, and that "mobs like these" cannot be allowed to "roam, to ruin our country, churches and homes". Thanks to Phil Milstein for providing the digital files.Sources1Song Poem Music↩2WFMU 365 Days Project: Harry Burgess — Chicago Policeman (#183)↩

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Lyrics

English: When I was a boy I wanted to be a policeman in my community, to wear a star and a uniform, and to have a car with a big loud horn / This was the life for me I thought / Back when I was a boy I went to school and studied hard / I wanted to learn the rules to guard / When I grew up they let me in and gave me a place as one of them / I had reached my lifelong plan, to become a policeman / My first big job was the convention the Democrats held for their nomination / There was trouble expected, we knew / From hippies and Yippies and communist too / They'd take over, and void they would, they were after our blood / The hippies were dirty, the Yippies were vile / The commies were there to keep the riled / The mayor didn't want Chicago ruined and that's what they were intending on doing / They hate America and all that's good / But they call it love, they raise the flag of the Vietcong / How could these kids have gone so wrong, to aid the communists killing their brothers / This tearing us within our borders / They hit us waves with their weapons of war, with spikes, bottles, blades / Our flesh they tour / We herding then down Michigan L / It's a good thing rioting equipment we had / We were trained to handle such mobs, that is part of our job / Police brutality was their own, joined by...viewers at home / They know police got to go, so their leaders can seize control / We do our job the best we can as Chicago Policeman / Your help to the police is really needed / If the…

Themes

Song Poem · Chicago Seven · Demonstration · Counter-Culture & Hippies · Yippies · Communism · VC

In collections

1968 Chicago Seven / Eight Songs · Children on Record · Song Poems · US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]