The Day of Indecision

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

Born Leroy LeBlanc on 30 January 1915, in Louisiana, Happy Fats belonged to the Cajun community - descendants of 17th-century French colonists.12 He released a series of controversial political and racist records in the 1960s, including "Birthday Thank You Tommy, From Viet Nam" (1965), which praised the fighting soldier in Vietnam, and attacked the anti-war movement for being un-patriotic. This was followed by "Veteran's Plea / Dear Mr. President" (1966) - the A-side of which dealt with Vietnam, while the B-side featured a racist monologue arguing against desegregation. In 1967 he released "The Day of Indecision", the title of which can be seen as an answer to Barry McGuire's "Eve of Destruction", and in which he called for fighting communism in Vietnam and Laos, and praised Goldwater, Wallace, and Reagan for their patriotism (one of the earliest records referencing Reagan, then Governor of California). In 1972 he released a single supporting Wallace's campaign for the presidency - "Vote Wallace in 72". Moreover, he released a string of segregationist, anti-Civil Rights, anti-Great Society, and anti-LBJ singles, including "A Victim of the Big Mess (Called the Great Society)". The song "The Day of Indecision" (Reb Rebel # 507) is another song title inspired by Barry McGuire's "Eve of Destruction", which presented a religious, patriotic, and racist perspective of politics, with those he disagreed with apparently facing punishment from god. As can be seen from the record label image, it featured the Confederate flag prominently. He praised "the men who are fighting in the jungles in Vietnam", as well as those fighting "the communist in places like Laos and Vietnam". But criticised the "evil politicians" who "protect the commies" at home and "persecute the peoples rights and the clans" - presumably a defense of the racist KKK, based on this artist's discography. As noted above, he praised Goldwater, Wallace, and Reagan for their patriotism (one of the earliest records referencing Reagan, then Governor of California) - while comparing the other politicians to Stalin, Hitler, and Mussolini, a somewhat disproportionate response and comparison. As well as supporting the KKK, it included multiple anti-Civil Rights messages, including "schemers who ... take the white, the black, the yellow, to fight and die and make their votes for them".Sources1South to Louisiana: The Music of the Cajun Bayous (John Broven, 1987)↩2The Cajuns: Americanization of a People (Shane K. Bernard, 2003)↩

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Annotation — Civil Rights Songs

Born Leroy LeBlanc on 30 January 1915, in Louisiana, Happy Fats belonged to the Cajun community - descendants of 17th-century French colonists.12 He released a series of controversial political and racist records in the 1960s, including "Birthday Thank You Tommy, From Viet Nam" (1965), which praised the fighting soldier in Vietnam, and attacked the anti-war movement for being un-patriotic. This was followed by "Veteran's Plea / Dear Mr. President" (1966) - the A-side of which dealt with Vietnam, while the B-side featured a racist monologue arguing against desegregation. In 1967 he released "The Day of Indecision", the title of which can be seen as an answer to Barry McGuire's "Eve of Destruction", and in which he called for fighting communism in Vietnam and Laos, and praised Goldwater, Wallace, and Reagan for their patriotism (one of the earliest records referencing Reagan, then Governor of California). In 1972 he released a single supporting Wallace's campaign for the presidency - "Vote Wallace in 72". Moreover, he released a string of segregationist, anti-Civil Rights, anti-Great Society, and anti-LBJ singles, including "A Victim of the Big Mess (Called the Great Society)". The song "The Day of Indecision" (Reb Rebel # 507) is another song title inspired by Barry McGuire's "Eve of Destruction", which presented a religious, patriotic, and racist perspective of politics, with those he disagreed with apparently facing punishment from god. As can be seen from the record label image, it featured the Confederate flag prominently. He praised "the men who are fighting in the jungles in Vietnam", as well as those fighting "the communist in places like Laos and Vietnam". But he criticised the "evil politicians" who "protect the commies" at home and "persecute the peoples rights and the clans" - presumably a defense of the racist KKK, based on this artist's anti-Civil Rights discography. As noted above, he praised Goldwater, Wallace, and Reagan for their patriotism (one of the earliest records referencing Reagan, then Governor of California) - while comparing the other politicians to Stalin, Hitler, and Mussolini, a somewhat disproportionate response and comparison. As well as supporting the KKK, it included multiple anti-Civil Rights messages, including "schemers who ... take the white, the black, the yellow, to fight and die and make their votes for them".Sources1South to Louisiana: The Music of the Cajun Bayous (John Broven, 1987)↩2The Cajuns: Americanization of a People (Shane K. Bernard, 2003)↩

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Lyrics

English: This is my country / We've had our days of decision / We've sat back and taken them in stride / But few of us have really thought about indecision... / As a god-fearing man I believe in the ? of hell / As a ? sinner, I'll know I'll have to pay / But will I be in the same place down there / With Stalin, Hitler, Mussolini, and the ones who are torturing us today / In a land that is so big and beautiful / What did our forefathers die for... / We are now pushed, battered, and persecuted / Be evil politicians ? / And when the histories books are written, we'll all go down and gone / Will the new patriots be included therein / National figures like Goldwater, Maddox, Wallace, Reagan... / Or will some politicians be written there, to make their fight once more / Maybe yes, but when they face the big book, they'll wish they were never born / They take our boys of every race to fight the communist in places like Laos and Vietnam / While over here they seems to protect the commies, and persecute the peoples rights and the clans / They are the schemers who work together where lights are dim / Take the white, the black, the yellow, to fight and die and make their votes for them / Yes, and I still get a tear in my eye, and a lump in my through when I hear 'America' / But the tune is kind of rickety / Like the wailing of a child for its mothers / And again ? hear the strains of 'Yankee Doodle' and 'Dixie' / I know that god will help the men who are fighting in the jungles in…

Notes

Reb Rebel No. 507, Side 2, P.O. Box 769, Crowley, La.; "The Day of Indecision" (Le Blanc), 3:08, Jamil Music, BMI. The label is printed in red and blue with a Confederate battle flag either side of the Reb Rebel logo. [From the record sleeve and labels]

About the artist

Born Rayne, Louisiana, USA (30 January 1915). Died 23 February 1988.

Themes

Patriotic · Answer to Eve of Destruction · Religion · Stalin · Hitler · Mussolini · Wallace · Goldwater · Reagan · KKK

In collections

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