Dont Cry My Love

Annotation

The song "Don't Cry My Love" (ABC Records # 11135), composed by Mayfield and Oscar Brown Jr. is narrated from the perspective of a soldier "going to war" to find his brother, and return to the US with him, alive. Interestingly, it contained a Civil Rights message. The soldier asked his loved ones at home not to worry and cry about them being in Vietnam, but to "spark others to fight for our respect and our long overdue....human right". The track ended with the soldier criticising the war for being a "shame and a crime" and "wrongdoing". The soldier could "see no reason for our fighting". Produced and arranged by .... Billboard reported on the release of the single on 2 November 1968, describing it as a "solid blues ballad with a soulful vocal workout and exceptional production by Johnny Pate".1 Sources1Billboard, 2 November 1968↩

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Annotation — Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs

The song "Don't Cry My Love" (ABC Records # 11135), composed by Mayfield and Oscar Brown Jr. is narrated from the perspective of a soldier "going to war" to find his brother, and return to the US with him, alive. Interestingly, it contained a civil rights message. The soldier asked his loved ones at home not to worry and cry about them being in Vietnam, but to "spark others to fight for our respect and our long overdue....human right". The track ended with the soldier criticising the war for being a "shame and a crime" and "wrongdoing". The soldier could "see no reason for our fighting". Produced and arranged by .... Billboard reported on the release of the single on 2 November 1968, describing it as a "solid blues ballad with a soulful vocal workout and exceptional production by Johnny Pate".1Sources1Billboard, 2 November 1968↩

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Annotation — Soul, Gospel, & Funk Songs

The Impressions formed in Chicago, Illinois in 1958. A hugely influential soul and funk group, they helped revolutionise R&B. While it had a revolving line-up, it featured Curtis Mayfield as it central member (1958-1970). Mayfield sits amongst the first African-American to introduce social commentary into his music, dealing with civil rights, Vietnam, and drugs, becoming an inspiration to later generations of hip-hop artists. Born on 3 June 1942, in the Cabrini-Green housing project on the north side of Chicago, Illinois, he started out singing gospel as a child at his grandmother's church. In 1963 he co-wrote the plight of the soldier track I'm a Soldier Boy performed by Dee Clark, while in 1972 he released the anti-war single We Got to Have Peace, which also contained a civil rights message. Mayfield is best known in the Vietnam area for his 1973 album Back to the World, below, about American GIs returning back to America (the "World") from Vietnam. He died in Roswell, Georgia, 22 December 1999.1 The Impressions also released the anti-war song "Stop the War" on the 1972 album Times Have Changed. The song "Don't Cry My Love" (ABC Records # 11135), composed by Mayfield and Oscar Brown Jr. is narrated from the perspective of a soldier "going to war" to find his brother, and return to the US with him, alive. Interestingly, it contained a Civil Rights message. The soldier asked his loved ones at home not to worry and cry about them being in Vietnam, but to "spark others to fight for our respect and our long overdue....human right". The track ended with the soldier criticising the war for being a "shame and a crime" and "wrongdoing". The soldier could "see no reason for our fighting". Produced and arranged by .... Billboard reported on the release of the single on 2 November 1968, describing it as a "solid blues ballad with a soulful vocal workout and exceptional production by Johnny Pate".2 Sources1Chicago Portraits: New Edition (June Skinner Sawyers, 2012)↩2Billboard, 2 November 1968↩

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Lyrics

English: Don't cry my love, I'll be back / Don't cry my sister, now that's no way to act / I'm going to war, and find my brother / Bring him home safely for our worried mother / Don't cry my love, you just be true / Keep your mind on things more important... / Keep on smiling and spark others to fight / For our respect and our long overdue free human rights / I can see no reason for our fighting this time / So many have gone and it's a shame and a crime / So much wrongdoing here I pretend not to see... / I'm going to war to find my long last brother

Notes

ABC Records 45-11135, matrix AMP 45-14869, "A Product of ABC Records Inc., New York, N.Y. 10019 - Made in USA"; "Don't Cry My Love" (C. Mayfield, O. Brown, Jr.), 2:40, Camad, BMI; produced, arranged and conducted by Johnny Pate. [From the record sleeve and labels]

About the artist

American soul vocal group formed 1958 in Chicago, Illinois (Curtis Mayfield, Sam Gooden, Fred Cash). [Source: Wikipedia] The Impressions formed in Chicago, Illinois in 1958. A hugely influential soul and funk group, they helped revolutionise R&B. While it had a revolving line-up, it featured Curtis Mayfield as it central member (1958-1970). Mayfield sits amongst the first African-American to introduce social commentary into his music, dealing with civil rights, Vietnam, and drugs, becoming an inspiration to later generations of hip-hop artists. Born on 3 June 1942, in the Cabrini-Green…

Themes

Soldier's Perspective · Civil Rights

In collections

Civil Rights Songs · Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years] · Soul, Gospel, & Funk Songs