Draft Card Burner’s Song
Not On Label · Australia
- Artist
- Don Henderson
- Title
- Draft Card Burner’s Song
- Release
- Unreleased
- Label
- Not On Label
- Format
- Unreleased · Unreleased
- Language
- English
- Country
- Australia
- Songwriter
- Don Henderson
- Genre
- Folk · Contemporary Folk
- Primary theme
- Peace, Protest & Anti-War
Annotation — Draft Songs
Don Henderson, a highly-regarded contemporary folk singer, born on 17 January 1937 in Melbourne, Australia. He died in Brisbane, Australia, on 20 August 1991. (1) He was particularly known for his political and social songs, with a focus on workers rights. He also composed several Vietnam War titles, although not all were recorded or released on record. The songs are: "Boonaroo", "The Won’t-Leave-This-Lander", "Bill White", "Draft Card Burner’s Song", "I'm an Australian – 20 Years Old", "Peace is Union Business", "Ting-A-Ling", "Somone Up There", and "Was War For Those Who Want It". (2) Thanks to Warren Fahey, Mark Gregory, and Raymond Crooke for identifying titles and providing lyrics.. The song "I'm an Australian – 20 Years Old" featured in The Vietnam Songbook published in 1969, and compiled by Barbara Dane and Irwin Silber (founders of Paredon Records) - containing 100+ Vietnam War protest songs, 9 of which came from Australia & New Zealand. The song is dated 1968, although no recording from the time has been found yet. The song took a comedic approach to a 21 year old caught-up in major court case for resisting the draft. It started out with the man going down to the…
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Annotation
Don Henderson, a highly-regarded contemporary folk singer, born on 17 January 1937 in Melbourne, Australia. He died in Brisbane, Australia, on 20 August 1991. (1) He was particularly known for his political and social songs, with a focus on workers rights. He also composed several Vietnam War titles, although not all were recorded or released on record. The songs are: "Boonaroo", "The Won’t-Leave-This-Lander", "Bill White", "Draft Card Burner’s Song", "I'm an Australian – 20 Years Old", "Peace is Union Business", "Ting-A-Ling", "Somone Up There", and "Was War For Those Who Want It". (2) Thanks to Warren Fahey, Mark Gregory, and Raymond Crooke for identifying titles and providing lyrics.. This 1968 album featured the song "Boonaroo", the title of which was a reference to the HMAS Boonaroo, an Australian National Line cargo vessel used to support Australian forces in Vietnam. In 1966, members of the Seamen's Union of Australia refused to sail the vessel in protest against the Vietnam War. (3) In the lyrics, the narrator wondered "who will man the Boonaroo", and then questioned the purpose of the ship, was there "medicine to heal...material to build", or was there "grief and death…
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
About the artist
born on 17 January 1937 in Melbourne, Australia. He died in Brisbane, Australia, on 20 August 1991.
Themes
Anti-War · Draft Resistance · Draft Card Burning · Conscientious Objector · ANZUS · Draft