The Byrds

Draft Morning

1968 · Columbia CL 2775 · New York City, New York

Artist
The Byrds
Title
Draft Morning
Release
Notorious Byrd Brothers
Year
1968
Label
Columbia # CL 2775
Format
LP · Album
Language
English
Country
New York City, New York, USA
Genre
Rock · Folk Rock
Primary theme
Home Front Perspective / Soldier's Perspective

Annotation

The Byrds protest song "Draft Morning" (Columbia Records # CS 9575) questioned the point of war, in a poignant, poetic fashion. It was a very creative draft song, with very few words. It was composed by David Crosby, and told the story of a soldier waking up on the morning of his departure for war, in the peaceful setting of the US, with the sun warming his face. He decided to take his time and enjoy the morning. But then the soldier is on the battlefield in Vietnam, where he had to "leave my bed to kill". In the background, the listener hears the sounds are war - gunfire and bombs - and the psychedelic, country rock sounds of the West Coast. Roger McGuinn and Chris Hillman also got writing credits, having re-worked the music following Crosby's departure from the band. (1) (2)(3)

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

About the artist

American folk-rock band formed 1964 in Los Angeles, California; disbanded 1973 ('Draft Morning'). [Source: Wikipedia]

Themes

Draft

In collections

Draft Songs · Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs