Death tone

Annotation

Manowar, an American Heavy Metal / US Power Metal band, formed in 1980 in Auburn, NY, with a revolving line-up, but consistently headed by the lead singer Eric Adams and the bass and keyboard player Joey DeMaio. Battle Hymn (Liberty Records # LBG 30349), the first album they recorded, included a couple post-war Vietnam related songs. Also note that their 1987 album Fighting the World, discussed below, featured the Vietnam song "Violence and Bloodshed", which referenced P.O.W.s. Firstly, the song "Death Tone", narrated in the first person, told the story of a Vietnam veteran wounded in the war: "ridin' on two wheels". The veteran complained that while others "were sittin' at home", he "got sent to Nam" - presumably a reference to the draft. Back home he struggled to find work and needed assistance: "my social worker's got me on a chain, keeps me out of jail". He said that his "unemployment checks run out next week" and would thus be living on the streets again. So the song portrayed the struggles of a wounded Vietnam vet, trying to re-adjust to society outside of the army and surviving / adapting to life with a major disability. Secondly, the album included the song "Shell Shock", which also looked at the negative psychological impact of the war on a Vietnam veteran. As the title suggested, the narrator suffered from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The song also included references to the chemical weapon Napalm B, the Purple Heart (a US military decoration), and the military classification 'Missing in Action' (M.I.A.). The lyrics started with a man drafted into the army, who then tells the listener that "I live in Saigon, we've got a team of special forces, we deliver napalm". As previously discussed, the US government extensively used napalm during the Vietnam conflict, dropping 388,000 tons on Indochina between 1963 and 1973.123 While in Vietnam, the soldier wrote a letter to his sweetheart which mentioned his fear of becoming M.I.A.: "if they tell you that I'm M.I.A., think a little less about me". The soldier then returned home. He had received "a purple heart to show the world I'm brave" but he felt "shell shocked". The veteran criticised the "businessmen" who "sat at home" making money, while he had to fight the war. Sources1Napalm: An American Biography (Robert M. Neer, 2013)↩2Times Higher Education: Napalm an american biography by robert m neer↩3Napalm, An American Biography (book website)↩

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Annotation — Draft Songs

Manowar, an American heavy metal band, formed in 1980 in Auburn, NY, with a revolving line-up, but consistently headed by the lead singer Eric Adams and the bass and keyboard player Joey DeMaio. Battle Hymn (Liberty Records # LBG 30349), the first album they recorded, included a couple post-war Vietnam related songs. Also note that their 1987 album Fighting the World, discussed below, featured the Vietnam song "Violence and Bloodshed", which referenced P.O.W.s. Firstly, the song "Death Tone", narrated in the first person, told the story of a Vietnam veteran wounded in the war: "ridin' on two wheels". The veteran complained that while others "were sittin' at home", he "got sent to Nam" - presumably a reference to the draft. Back home he struggled to find work and needed assistance: "my social worker's got me on a chain, keeps me out of jail". He said that his "unemployment checks run out next week" and would thus be living on the streets again. So the song portrayed the struggles of a wounded Vietnam vet, trying to re-adjust to society outside of the army and surviving / adapting to life with a major disability.

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Annotation — Metal Songs

Manowar, an American Heavy Metal / US Power Metal band, formed in 1980 in Auburn, NY, with a revolving line-up, but consistently headed by the lead singer Eric Adams and the bass and keyboard player Joey DeMaio. Battle Hymn (Liberty Records # LBG 30349), the first album they recorded, included a couple post-war Vietnam related songs. Also note that their 1987 album Fighting the World, discussed below, featured the Vietnam song "Violence and Bloodshed", which referenced P.O.W.s. Firstly, the song "Death Tone", narrated in the first person, told the story of a Vietnam veteran wounded in the war: "ridin' on two wheels". The veteran complained that while others "were sittin' at home", he "got sent to Nam" - presumably a reference to the draft. Back home he struggled to find work and needed assistance: "my social worker's got me on a chain, keeps me out of jail". He said that his "unemployment checks run out next week" and would thus be living on the streets again. So the song portrayed the struggles of a wounded Vietnam vet, trying to re-adjust to society outside of the army and surviving / adapting to life with a major disability.

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Annotation — P.O.W. / M.I.A. Songs

Manowar, an American heavy metal band, formed in 1980 in Auburn, NY, with a revolving line-up, but consistently headed by the lead singer Eric Adams and the bass and keyboard player Joey DeMaio. Battle Hymn (Liberty Records # LBG 30349), the first album they recorded, included a couple post-war Vietnam related songs. Also note that their 1987 album Fighting the World, discussed below, featured the Vietnam song "Violence and Bloodshed". Firstly, the song "Death Tone", portrayed the struggles of a wounded Vietnam vet, trying to re-adjust to society outside of the army and surviving / adapting to life with a major disability. Secondly, the album included the song "Shell Shock", which also looked at the negative psychological impact of the war on a Vietnam veteran. As the title suggested, the narrator suffered from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The song also included references to the chemical weapon Napalm B, the Purple Heart (a US military decoration), and the military classification M.I.A. The lyrics started with a man drafted into the army, who then told the listener that "I live in Saigon, we've got a team of special forces, we deliver napalm". As previously discussed, the US government extensively used napalm during the Vietnam conflict, dropping 388,000 tons on Indochina between 1963 and 1973.123 While in Vietnam, the soldier wrote a letter to his sweetheart which mentioned his fear of becoming M.I.A.: "if they tell you that I'm M.I.A., think a little less about me". The soldier then returned home. He had received "a purple heart to show the world I'm brave" but he felt "shell shocked". The veteran criticised the "businessmen" who "sat at home" making money, while he had to fight the war. Sources1Napalm: An American Biography (Robert M. Neer, 2013)↩2Times Higher Education: Napalm an american biography by robert m neer↩3Napalm, An American Biography (book website)↩

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Lyrics

English: Ridin' on two wheels, chains hooked on my heels / Sittin' on leather, ridin' on steel, put my shades on / Hair blows in the wind, I give some square the finger / Now he won't look again, no he won't / Now, you were sittin' home and I got sent to Nam / I went to the big house, you just worked at job / Hear me calling, can't you hear my death tone... / Hear me ride on into the night, pull along side / If you're looking for a fight, hey, hey my social worker's got me on a chain / Keeps me out of jail, so the paper prints his name / Yes it does, and he likes it, unemployment checks / Run out next week, it won't be very long / 'Til I'm back on the streets again I don't know, well, there's no charge for the haircut / And the bullets come free, my Uncle Sam sent a letter / Said: he's got a mission for me, now I'm a ranger, not a stranger / And I live in Saigon, we've got a team of special forces / And we deliver napalm, but if they tell you that I've lost my mind / Baby it's not gone just a little hard to find / By the time this letter gets home, I'd be gone, gone, yeah gone / And if they tell you that I'm M.I.A., think a little less about me / Each day 'Cause if I ever get back / I'll be shell shocked, whoa... / Feels funny riding in my car, used to drive a tank and shoot a B.A.R... / Now it's over and the homeland's safe / Got a purple heart to show the world I'm brave / The businessmen sat at home, well I got shell shocked

About the artist

American heavy metal band formed in 1980 in Auburn, New York, by Joey DeMaio and Ross the Boss. [Source: Wikipedia]

Themes

Vet · Disabled Vet · Draft · Mistreatment of Vet

In collections

Draft Songs · Metal Songs · P.O.W. / M.I.A. Songs