God Bless America Tonight

Annotation

The group formed in Ohio, US, in 1981, led by Wayne Barker Jr., a Vietnam veteran. The group often performed at veteran gatherings. The back of this single said that "the group was formed to help the Vietnam veterans, through the support of the Vietnam Veteran of America, Ohio State Council. Funds raised through the sale of records, show, concerts, etc. will be donated to the Vietnam Veterans of America for veteran-related projects".1234 The group released several Vietnam-related singles: "The Wall" (discussed above), "American Heroes", and "Orange Ribbons", the last two of which are also related to the 1990 First Gulf War. The song "God Bless America Tonight" (Fraternity Records # F-3546) - a patriotic, country pop, post-war 80s song about the memorial wall in D.C. contained some very interesting thoughts on the war. It is narrated from the perspective of a veteran who visited D.C., listening to the questions of his dead comrades. A dead soldier asked "did we finally win their freedom?", meaning the South Vietnamese, thus the position of the US government's objective in the 60s & 70s to establish a non-communist South Vietnam. It then contained the line "did they finally let us fight?" - implying that the government / military establishment were preventing the soldiers from conducting the war properly, thus presenting that as an explanation as to why they lost the war. The narrated concluded that "there is something wrong here, with this country". The song also dealt with the mistreatment of Vietnam War veterans, with the dead soldier saying: "did she treat my brothers right". Released in Cincinnati, Ohio. Composed by Wayne Barker Jr. Produced by Wayne Barker Jr. and Ron Czarnecki. Engineer: Dale "Smitty" Smith.Sources1Wall, The (The Vettz)↩2engineersvietnam.com (archived copy)↩3ReverbNation (link no longer available)↩4efolkmusic.org: Wayne barker (link no longer available)↩

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Annotation — Veterans Memorial Wall Songs

The group formed in Ohio, US, in 1981, led by Wayne Barker Jr., a Vietnam veteran. The group often performed at veteran gatherings. The back of this single said that "the group was formed to help the Vietnam veterans, through the support of the Vietnam Veteran of America, Ohio State Council. Funds raised through the sale of records, show, concerts, etc. will be donated to the Vietnam Veterans of America for veteran-related projects".1234 The group released several Vietnam-related singles: "The Wall" (discussed above), "American Heroes", and "Orange Ribbons", the last two of which are also related to the 1990 First Gulf War. The song "God Bless America Tonight" (Fraternity Records # F-3546) - a patriotic, country pop, post-war 80s song about the memorial wall in D.C. contained some very interesting thoughts on the war. It is narrated from the perspective of a veteran who visited D.C., listening to the questions of his dead comrades. A dead soldier asked "did we finally win their freedom?", meaning the South Vietnamese, thus the position of the US government's objective in the 60s & 70s to establish a non-communist South Vietnam. It then contained the line "did they finally let us fight?" - implying that the government / military establishment were preventing the soldiers from conducting the war properly, thus presenting that as an explanation as to why they lost the war. The narrated concluded that "there is something wrong here, with this country". The song also dealt with the mistreatment of Vietnam War veterans, with the dead soldier saying: "did she treat my brothers right". Released in Cincinnati, Ohio. Composed by Wayne Barker Jr. Produced by Wayne Barker Jr. and Ron Czarnecki. Engineer: Dale "Smitty" Smith. Sources1Wall, The (The Vettz)↩2engineersvietnam.com (archived copy)↩3ReverbNation (link no longer available)↩4efolkmusic.org: Wayne barker (link no longer available)↩

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Lyrics

English: I went to see the big black wall today, where there are many many names / I tried to read, and touch everyone only a few hours were all I could save / And while the time was passing by, I heard the voices in my head / Their spirits called and fell all over me and America this is what they said / Well they asked me, does our country remember / Did she treat my brothers right / Did we finally win their freedom, did they finally let us fight / Tell our mothers we love them, we hear their prays every night / We gave our lives for good reasons... / God bless America tonight / As I walked away I couldn't speak, the tears welled up in my eyes / No I couldn't give them any answers, not any that wouldn't be lies / My god you know there is something wrong here / With this country we all love so / We know the answers to their questions / But how can tell them its no when they ask you / Does our country remember / Did she treat my brothers right / Did we finally win their freedom / Hell, did they ever let us fight / Tell our mothers we love them...

Notes

Fraternity Recording Corporation F-3546-A (U-24106), stereo, 45 RPM; "God Bless America Tonight" (W. Barker Jr.), 3:20; © 1989 by Fraternity Records, Cinti, Ohio; publisher Big Ron Music, B.M.I.; producers Wayne Barker and Ron Czarnecki; engineer Dale "Smitty" Smith. [From the record sleeve and labels]

About the artist

Formed 1981, USA. Currently Franklin, Ohio, USA

Themes

Mistreatment of Vet · Military · Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall

In collections

US Military & Veteran Songs · Veterans Memorial Wall Songs