Christmas Letter
It'll Do 1000 · USA
- Artist
- The Mask
- Title
- Christmas Letter
- Release
- Viet Nam Prayer / Christmas Letter
- Label
- It'll Do # 1000
- Format
- 7" · Single
- Language
- English
- Country
- USA
- Songwriter
- The Mask
- Genre
- Country · Country · Novelty
- Primary theme
- Home Front Perspective / Soldier's Perspective
Annotation — Christmas Songs
The song "Christmas Letter" (It'll Do Records # 1000) by the Mask - a country novelty record about a soldier in Vietnam during Christmas. It took a humorous tone, as the soldier hoped his father, back home, will cut down on the drinking and go to church on Christmas day. The soldier had a Christmas tree in Vietnam, all wet and muddy, but it protected him from the bullets: "don't worry mum, I have a Christmas tree...it protects me from the shells". Also, the Red Cross supplied doughnuts to the soldier, which were apparently just as good as his mum's cooking. At the end of the song, the soldier sent out a Christmas wish to everyone from "under my Christmas tree in Vietnam". Unknown artist, label, and year.
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Annotation — US Combat Perspective Songs
The song "Christmas Letter" (It'll Do Records # 1000) by the Mask - a country novelty record about a soldier in Vietnam during Christmas. It took a humorous tone, as the soldier hoped his father, back home, will cut down on the drinking and go to church on Christmas day. The soldier had a Christmas tree in Vietnam, all wet and muddy, but it protected him from the bullets: "don't worry mum, I have a Christmas tree...it protects me from the shells". Also, the Red Cross supplied doughnuts to the soldier, which were apparently just as good as his mum's cooking. At the end of the song, the soldier sent out a Christmas wish to everyone from "under my Christmas tree in Vietnam". Unknown artist, label, and year.The record also included the track "Viet Nam Prayer", which took a more serious approach. The narrator, a soldier, prayed to god to end the war in Vietnam, so that all the soldiers could get "out of this jungle" and then "be with our mothers, wives and girlfriends". He also prayed for god to bring together at the conference table the leaders of the United States (referencing President Johnson), China, and Russia.
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Lyrics
English: Merry Christmas mum, sis, and dad, I hope you are well and fine mum / I hope you can get dad to church, maybe he'll quit drinking this time / Sis, I want to to say I'm sorry for not getting along better, tell your boyfriend I'm sorry I was rude to him / Mum, tell the man at the finance company that I'll pay him, if I ever get home / Mum, tell my buddies there hello and wish them and everyone a merry Christmas from me / Don't worry mum, I have a Christmas tree / It is wet and the ground is muddy but it protects me from the shells... / Mum, I'm sending you the Christmas money bag, thanks, but we don't need it here / We have the Red Cross and the doughnuts are so good I feel that I'm in your kitchen... / I'm wishing everyone a merry Christmas from under my Christmas tree in Vietnam Oh lord, you could answer so many prayers at once / And I think they would be as mine, mothers, wives and girlfriends... / Oh lord I think of you to get all of the great countries together / The United States, China, Russia, and the many others / Lord, I am sure the Mr. Johnson and others have talked to you... / I know my girlfriend has prayed for this, oh lord / I pray from this hole in the jungle, knowing if I should stand they'll end this prayer with a bullet / Lord, I know in my mind his mothers, wife or girlfriend wouldn't want me to kill him / So I'll finish this prayer before we take the other hill / Oh lord, I hope for all in this great land that you bring all of our great leaders…
Notes
It'll Do Records 1000, pink label; both sides written by The Mask and published by Sandra Music Publishing (BMI). Side A, "Christmas Letter" (C. L. 5598-A), 2:00; side B, "Viet-Nam Prayer" (V. N. 5598-B), 2:05. [From the record sleeve and labels]