Vietnam

Annotation

The art punk / post-punk group Cold Warrior and the Mercenary Band, out of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, released the song "Vietnam" (t.m.i. Products # 807-63) on their 1980 EP, which took an anti-war position. Showing concern for the possibility of "another military adventure", the narrator asked the listener to "remember Vietnam, Lt. Calley, and the My Lai massacre...the invasion of Cambodia and Laos". The lyrics also focused on the military-industrial complex, as mentioned by President Eisenhower during his farewell address on 17 January 1961: "in Washington, the Pentagon war machine is getting...tanks into production, along with cruise missiles".1 The narrator suggested that instead of spending money on weapons, the funds should go towards "education, housing...a national health insurance". Finally, the lyrics scornfully remarked that Henry Kissinger received a Nobel Peace Prize in 1973, despite his role in the controversial Christmas bombings over Hanoi and Haiphong in 1972 (Operation Linebacker II).& Vietnam War: Punk Songs Sources1US National Archives: Farewell address (archived copy)↩

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Annotation — My Lai & Lt. William Calley Songs

The art punk / post-punk group Cold Warrior and the Mercenary Band, out of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, released the song "Vietnam" (t.m.i. Products # 807-63) on their 1980 EP, which took an anti-war position. Showing concern for the possibility of "another military adventure", the narrator asked the listener to "remember Vietnam, Lt. Calley, and the My Lai massacre...the invasion of Cambodia and Laos". The lyrics also focused on the military-industrial complex, as mentioned by President Eisenhower during his farewell address on 17 January 1961: "in Washington, the Pentagon war machine is getting...tanks into production, along with cruise missiles".1 The narrator suggested that instead of spending money on weapons, the funds should go towards "education, housing...a national health insurance". Finally, the lyrics scornfully remarked that Henry Kissinger received a Nobel Peace Prize in 1973, despite his role in the controversial Christmas bombings over Hanoi and Haiphong in 1972 (Operation Linebacker II).Sources1US National Archives: Farewell address (archived copy)↩

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Annotation — Punk Songs

The Art Punk / Post-Punk group Cold Warrior and the Mercenary Band, out of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, released the song "Vietnam" (t.m.i. Products # 807-63) on their 1980 EP, which took an anti-war position. Showing concern for the possibility of "another military adventure", the narrator asked the listener to "remember Vietnam, Lt. Calley, and the My Lai massacre...the invasion of Cambodia and Laos". The lyrics also focused on the military-industrial complex, as mentioned by President Eisenhower during his farewell address on 17 January 1961: "in Washington, the Pentagon war machine is getting...tanks into production, along with cruise missiles".1 The narrator suggested that instead of spending money on weapons, the funds should go towards "education, housing...a national health insurance". Finally, the lyrics scornfully remarked that Henry Kissinger received a Nobel Peace Prize in 1973, despite his role in the controversial Christmas bombings over Hanoi and Haiphong in 1972 (Operation Linebacker II).Sources1US National Archives: Farewell address (archived copy)↩

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Lyrics

English: Do you remember Vietnam, Lt. Calley, and the My Lai massacre? / Do you remember the invasion of Cambodia and Laos / The Pentagon says America is ready for another military adventure... / When the United States bombed North Vietnam in December of 1972 do you know what Henry Kissinger received? / The Nobel Prize for Peace / In Washington the Pentagon war machine is getting the ? tanks into production / Along with cruise missiles, index missiles, neutron bombs, nerve gas / When will America learn? / Let's spend our funds on education, housing full employment, a national health insurance program

Notes

t.m.i. products 807-63, Side one, stereo, a 45 R.P.M. stereo "Extended Play" with three tracks: Side One "Jean-Paul Sartre Is Dead" (3:12) and "Vietnam" (1:59), Side Two "Beatsickness" (3:12), all by F. Lackey and the Mercenary Band, © 1980. The back of the sleeve credits Francis J. Lackey (Cold Warrior) on vocals and the Mercenary Band: Joe Bloggs (electric guitar), Dennis J. Childers (drums), Hans (organ), Christopher Koenigs Berg (fretless bass), Reid Paley (alto sax) and Stephen A. Sciulli (synthesizer); recorded at Sound Seven Studios (engineer Lee Hollihan) and The Sound Castle Studios (engineer Michael Mazzei); special thanks to Susan K. Bidish, Jim Laugelli, Judy Von Hofen and Stacy Weiss; cover photo by Stacy Weiss, graphic design by Magna Graphics Inc., "A T.M.I. Product". The front-cover photograph shows the group gathered on the steps outside a Rockwell International…

Themes

My Lai · Anti-Calley · Cambodia · Laos · Kissinger

In collections

My Lai & Lt. William Calley Songs · Punk Songs