Eine Hand voll Reis

Annotation

Freddy Quinn, born 27 September 1931 in Niederfladnitz, Niederösterreich, Austria, and currently based in Hamburg, Germany. This single contained two conservative, pro-American, songs of the Vietnam War era, released in then West Germany on Polydor # 52 781.. The first song "Ein handvoll reis" ("A Handful of Rice") defended the US position in Vietnam, "we fought... for freedom and democracy". This had some moderate success in Europe, reaching # 7 in Austria (15 January 1067), and # 6 in Germany (15 November 1966).123 The b-side featured the song "Wir", with lyrics written by Austrian author and composer Fritz Rotter, and music by Russia-born, and West German-based composer Lotar Olias. The song attacks hippie culture, and the anti-war movement, calling the participants "bums" who "hang around in parks and alleys" with "pointless laziness".Sources1chartsurfer.de: Eine handvoll reis song vcfh↩2Wikipedia: Wir (Lied)↩3deutschelieder.wordpress.com: Freddy quinn wir↩

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Annotation — European Songs

Freddy Quinn, born 27 September 1931 in Niederfladnitz, Niederösterreich, Austria, and currently based in Hamburg, Germany. This single contained two conservative, pro-American, songs of the Vietnam War era, released in then West Germany on Polydor # 52 781. The first song "Ein handvoll reis" ("A Handful of Rice") defended the US position in Vietnam, "we fought... for freedom and democracy". This had some moderate success in Europe, reaching # 7 in Austria (15 January 1067), and # 6 in Germany (15 November 1966).123Sources1chartsurfer.de: Eine handvoll reis song vcfh↩2Wikipedia: Wir (Lied)↩3deutschelieder.wordpress.com: Freddy quinn wir↩

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Lyrics

English: A handful of rice was what we got in Lao-tan / A handful of rice per man for a day / A handful of rice, a handful of rice / Plus 300 rounds of ammunition, and at roll call, as a rule / Pride and grief and the greetings / Yes, the greetings of the whole nation / We fought in our / Column for freedom and democracy / And behind us rolled the company's barrel of whisky / We rode into hell, malaria, last ration / Of the 70 men we were, only three reached the station / The village of Lao-tan on the coast was ravaged three times and empty / The fields there turned to desert and there were no more flowers / Here our hope was loaded on board, we never reached home / We were three comrades, the last of the company / A handful of rice was what we got in Lao-tan / A handful of rice per man for a day / A handful of rice, a handful of rice / Plus 300 rounds of ammunition, and at roll call, as a rule / Pride and grief and the greetings / Yes, the greetings of the whole nation __________ German: Eine Handvoll Reis gab es in Lao-tan / Eine Handvoll Reis für einen Tag pro Mann / Eine Handvoll Reis, eine Handvoll Reis / Dazu 300 Schuß Munition und zum Appell generell / Stolz und Trauer und die Grüße / Ja, die Grüße - der ganzen Nation / Wir kämpften in uns'rer / Kolonne für Freiheit und Demokratie / Und hinter uns rollte die Tonne mit dem Whisky der Kompanie / Wir sind in die Hölle gefahren, Malaria, letzte Ration / Von 70 Mann, die wir waren, erreichten nur drei die Station / Der Ort…

Notes

Polydor 52 781, red labels, "M 45", GEMA, Edition Esplanade, "Made in Germany — Deutsche Grammophon Ges.mbH"; A: Eine Handvoll Reis (Olias – Grasshoff) 3:30; B: Wir (Olias – F. Rotter) 3:26; Freddy with Orchester Robert Opratko. Picture sleeve: colour profile portrait of Freddy in a blue shirt, titled "Freddy — Eine Handvoll Reis" on the front and "Freddy — Wir" on the back. [From the record sleeve and labels]

About the artist

Austrian schlager singer, born 27 September 1931 in Austria; based in Hamburg, Germany. [Source: Wikipedia]

Themes

Soldier's Perspective · Patriotic

In collections

European Songs · US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]