Finally Welcomed Home

Annotation

Bobby Ross, a country artist, born on 4 September 1947, in California, USA is a Vietnam veteran - he served as a 1st Lieutenant in the 2/17th CAV in the 101st Airborne Division in the Vietnam War in 1968 and 1969. He retired from music in 2004 and runs a farm in the Sacramento Valley, California, USA. He has taken an active part in veteran affairs.123 Both songs on this 7" single (Constellation # IM-31589) related to the Vietnam War, and referenced the memorial wall in D.C. They both featured on the 1988 album Voice of America (Constellation # VOA-1). Released in Nashville, Tennessee, USA. The picture sleeve of this single contained a quote from Cashbox Magazine: "This veteran can sing! Get ready to be touched. Excellent effort by, and for, those who served in Vietnam...I'll admit this one hit the heart". There was also a quote from Music Row Magazine: "this labor-of-love by a group of Nashville veterans will bring a lump to your throat and possible a tear to your eye". The song "Finally Welcomed Home" started with some memorable sounds of the 60s, with a clip of Country Joe & The Fish performing "I Feel Like I'm Fixin' to Die Rag" at the festival Woodstock: 3 Days of Peace & Music: "terrible jam, way down yonder in Vietnam", followed by a quote from JFK: "bring this situation back to what it was" and then LBJ: "this is a different kind of war, there are no marching armies and solemn declarations". Next, a spoken-word intro, which referenced the memorial wall: "those were the sounds of the 10,000 day war, here's a reminder of what we were fighting for, but first lets bow our head in silence, for those names upon that stone, here's to the rest of us, we finally made it home". The song itself was a nostalgic look through American culture, suggesting that the soldiers were fighting to protect the American way of life.The song "Goodbye to West Virginia" described a young man being drafted by Uncle Sam to fight in the "hell of Vietnam". The lyrics provided a combat description: "deadly silence, flash of fire", which took the young man's youthful smile away. The soldier was K.I.A. and "now his name is inscribed on that black stone wall". His body was returned to his home in West Virginia. Sources1LT Bobby Ross: About↩2Veterans Today: Fishing with lt bobby ross in idaho (archived copy)↩3Veterans Today: Dove hunting with lt bobby ross (archived copy)↩

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Annotation — Veterans Memorial Wall Songs

Bobby Ross, a country artist, born on 4 September 1947, in California, USA is a Vietnam veteran - he served as a 1st Lieutenant in the 2/17th CAV in the 101st Airborne Division in the Vietnam War in 1968 and 1969. He retired from music in 2004 and runs a farm in the Sacramento Valley, California, USA. He has taken an active part in veteran affairs.123 Both songs on this 7" single ((Constellation # IM-31589) related to the Vietnam War, and referenced the memorial wall in D.C. They both featured on the 1988 album Voice of America (Constellation # VOA-1). Released in Nashville, Tennessee, USA. The picture sleeve of this single contained a quote from Cashbox Magazine: "This veteran can sing! Get ready to be touched. Excellent effort by, and for, those who served in Vietnam...I'll admit this one hit the heart". There was also a quote from Music Row Magazine: "this labor-of-love by a group of Nashville veterans will bring a lump to your throat and possible a tear to your eye". The song "Finally Welcomed Home" started with some memorable sounds of the 60s, with a clip of Country Joe & The Fish performing "I Feel Like I'm Fixin' to Die Rag" at the festival Woodstock: 3 Days of Peace & Music: "terrible jam, way down yonder in Vietnam", followed by a quote from JFK: "bring this situation back to what it was" and then LBJ: "this is a different kind of war, there are no marching armies and solemn declarations". Next, a spoken-word intro, which referenced the memorial wall: "those were the sounds of the 10,000 day war, here's a reminder of what we were fighting for, but first lets bow our head in silence, for those names upon that stone, here's to the rest of us, we finally made it home". The song itself was a nostalgic look through American culture, suggesting that the soldiers were fighting to protect the American way of life.Sources1LT Bobby Ross: About↩2Veterans Today: Fishing with lt bobby ross in idaho (archived copy)↩3Veterans Today: Dove hunting with lt bobby ross (archived copy)↩

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Lyrics

English: It was all for baseball, the old fishing pole, peanut butter & jam / Bicycles and dogs, turtles and frogs, and Disney Land / For all the girls in their faded blue jeans, Hershey bars, keys to the car / Senior high school rings, hello America you've remembered me / We were the ones who fought the war every night on your TV / Lost in America, been gone so long, the war is over now / We're finally welcomed home / I see a home town, hear the latest sounds at the back yard barbecue / The Carson show, pizza to go, a day at the zoo / I see a family all together on a Sunday afternoon / Grandpa, grandma, telling us all how they shined on harvest moon... / It's been a long time coming / This day is finally here / We can proudly stand together...hello America 18 years old and kind of wild, not yet a man, still not a child / He faced each new day with a smile as he stumbled through his youth / Born to laugh, he'd never cried, had a wondering eye / Had a roving eye, he could work all day, and raise hell all night / And then he had to face the truth when he said goodbye to West Virginia / He broke down an cried, like a baby in mother's arms... / How could he know this was the calm before the storm / So Uncle Sam took him away, and we cuss him to this very day / He heard that big drill sergeant say, 'it's time to be a man' / Your neck is red, but son you're green, get rid of them old blue jeans / And so began that two year dream in the hell of Vietnam / It was goodbye to West…

Notes

Base Camp Records BCR-USA-7487 (U-19497), orange label with a jungle-boot logo; Side "B": "Goodbye to West Virginia" (George Jeffrey), Big Blue Ridge Music, BMI, time 4:11, intro :11, end fade; produced by Andy Anderson; credited to 1st Lt. Bobby Ross (Ret., 101st Airborne, USA). The label states: "This material was written and performed by Vietnam Veterans for All Veterans, Especially those who served in The Vietnam Era." The picture sleeve for "Finally Welcomed Home" shows a tinted combat photograph of two soldiers standing in a smoke-filled jungle clearing beside a covered body on the ground. [From the record sleeve and labels]

About the artist

Born 4 September 1947, California, USA. Currently Iselton, California, USA Served with the Air-O-Rifle Platoon, 2/17 Cavalry, 101st Airborne Division, I Corps, South Vietnam, in 1968, commissioned through OCS (sleeve dedication).

Themes

Military · Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall · Vet

In collections

US Military & Veteran Songs · Veterans Memorial Wall Songs