The Dawn of Correction

Annotation — McGuire's "Eve of Destruction" & Answer Songs

As can be seen from the title of the song and within the lyrics, the track "The Dawn of Correction" (Decca Record # 31844) answered Barry McGuire's popular single "Eve of Destruction" - in fact, it was played to the same tune. This single reached #36 in the Billboard charts.1 The Spokesmen were an American garage rock group, made up of John Medora, David White Tucker (of the band Danny & The Juniors) and Roy Gilmore, who all shared the writing credits for the song. Released on the album The Dawn of Correction (Decca # DL 4712) - this album contained two other Vietnam-related tracks - "Better Days Are Yet to Come" and "Have Courage, Be Careful", discussed below. In the first half, the narrator took a hawkish, patriotic stance, arguing that communism posed a threat to the Western democracies, and that if "red domination" was not stopped, then there "will be no need for voting in future generations" in the US. Therefore this backed the domino theory.1 The lyrics also supported the retaining of nuclear weapons. Barry McGuire had argued that the world faced destruction if the "button is pushed". But The Spokesmen wanted to know "who's crazy enough to risk annihilation?", and that "the buttons are there to ensure negotiation". In other words it propagated the theory of Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) - that rough arms parity between the superpowers meant that each side had the capability to destroy the other, thus neutralising the threat.2 Although hawkish, this view would have been supported by both the Republican and Democrat Party, and widespread in public opinion. In the second half, the narrator switched from supporting Conservative causes, to those on the more left side of politics. The narrator praised Civil Rights demonstrations for increasing voting registration amongst African-Americans, in direct response to Barry McGuire: "you tell me that marches won't bring integration, but look what it's done for the voter registration". The lyrics also praised the work of the United Nations and the Peace Corps, which many Conservatives in the 1960s would have disagreed with. Most interestingly, the lyrics applauded a trend of "self-governments replacing colonization" - almost ironic in that the song supported US intervention against communism, presumably including South Vietnam, in which the American presence had replaced that of the old colonial power France. Overall, the song criticised McGuire for being negative and ignoring that which "deserve commendation", such as developments in medicine and farming, international cooperation, and the spread of democracy. Sources1Billboard↩2International Relations: The Key Concepts (Martin Griffiths, 2002)↩

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Annotation

As can be seen from the title of the song and within the lyrics, the track "The Dawn of Correction" (Decca Record # 31844) answered Barry McGuire's popular single "Eve of Destruction" - in fact, it was played to the same tune. This single reached #36 in the Billboard charts.1 The Spokesmen were an American garage rock group, made up of John Medora, David White (of the band Danny & The Juniors) and Roy Gilmore, who all shared the writing credits for the song. Released on the album The Dawn of Correction (Decca # DL 4712) - this album contained two other Vietnam-related tracks - "Better Days Are Yet to Come" and "Have Courage, Be Careful", discussed below. In the first half, the narrator took a hawkish, patriotic stance, arguing that communism posed a threat to the Western democracies, and that if "red domination" was not stopped, then there "will be no need for voting in future generations" in the US. Therefore this backed the domino theory.1 The lyrics also supported the retaining of nuclear weapons. Barry McGuire had argued that the world faced destruction if the "button is pushed". But The Spokesmen wanted to know "who's crazy enough to risk annihilation?", and that "the buttons are there to ensure negotiation". In other words it propagated the theory of Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) - that rough arms parity between the superpowers meant that each side had the capability to destroy the other, thus neutralising the threat.2 Although hawkish, this view would have been supported by both the Republican and Democrat Party, and widespread in public opinion. In the second half, the narrator switched from supporting Conservative causes, to those on the more left side of politics. The narrator praised Civil Rights demonstrations for increasing voting registration amongst African-Americans, in direct response to Barry McGuire: "you tell me that marches won't bring integration, but look what it's done for the voter registration". The lyrics also praised the work of the United Nations and the Peace Corps, which many Conservatives in the 1960s would have disagreed with. Most interestingly, the lyrics applauded a trend of "self-governments replacing colonization" - almost ironic in that the song supported US intervention against communism, presumably including South Vietnam, in which the American presence had replaced that of the old colonial power France. Overall, the song criticised McGuire for being negative and ignoring that which "deserve commendation", such as developments in medicine and farming, international cooperation, and the spread of democracy. Sources1Billboard↩2International Relations: The Key Concepts (Martin Griffiths, 2002)↩

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Lyrics

English: The western world has a common dedication / To keep free people from Red domination / And maybe you can't vote, boy, but man your battle stations / Or there will be no need for voting in future generations / So over and over again, you keep saying it's the end / But I say you're wrong, were just on the dawn of correction / There are buttons to push in two mighty nations / But who's crazy enough to risk annihilation? / The buttons are there to ensure negotiation / So don't be afraid, boy, it's our only salvation... /You tell me that marches won't bring integration / But look what it's done for the voter registration / Be thankful our country allows demonstrations / Instead of condemning, make some recommendations / I don't understand the cause of your aggravation / You mean to tell me, boy, it's not a better situation?... / You missed all the good in your evaluation / What about the things that deserve commendation? / Where there once was no cure, there's vaccination / Where there once was a desert, there's vegetation / Self-governments replacing colonization / What about the Peace Corp. organization? / Don't forget the work of the United Nations

Notes

Decca 31844 (116,430), rainbow-stripe black label, "M'f'r'd by Decca Records Inc. New York, U.S.A."; "The Dawn of Correction" (J. Madara-D. White-R. Gilmore), Champion Music Corp. & Double Diamond Music (BMI) (3:28); The Spokesmen, vocal trio with instrumental accompaniment, arranged by Madara-White, produced by Madara-White Productions. [From the record sleeve and labels]

About the artist

American vocal group formed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1965 by John Madara, David White and Ray Gilmore, best known for 'The Dawn of Correction' (1965), an answer record to 'Eve of Destruction'. [Source: Wikipedia]

Themes

Patriotic · Answer to Eve of Destruction · Civil Rights · Demonstration

In collections

McGuire's "Eve of Destruction" & Answer Songs · Civil Rights Songs · Garage Rock Songs · US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]