Helden von Nordvietnam
1983 · Weird System 1 · Germany: West [FRG]
- Artist
- Razzia
- Title
- Helden von Nordvietnam
- Release
- Waterkant-Hits
- Year
- 1983
- Label
- Weird System # 1
- Format
- Compilation
- Language
- German
- Country
- Germany: West [FRG]
- Genre
- Punk · Deutschpunk
- Primary theme
- Post-War
Annotation
Razzia, a Deutschpunk group from Hamburg, formed in 1979, released the song "Helden von Nordvietnam" (Weird System Recordings # 001) which appeared on this various artist collection. The song was a tribute to the "heroes of North Vietnam and the partisans from the Viet Cong" - the Vietcong (or "VC") - the National Liberation Front (NFL), the political and military resistance to the US and South Vietnamese government from within South Vietnam. The song noted the US military's use of napalm: "On the run from napalm and gas" - chemical weapon Napalm B - a jellied gasoline mixture, with polystyrene, benzene, and gasoline. Declared a war-crime since 1980, the US government extensively used this weapon during the Vietnam conflict, dropping 388,000 tons on Indochina between 1963 and 1973.123 Note that this song was covered by metal band Yacøpsæ - Apokalypse / Helden von Nordvietnam (2012), the front cover of which featured the famous picture of the "Execution of Nguyễn Văn Lém".14Sources1Napalm: An American Biography (Robert M. Neer, 2013)↩2Times Higher Education: Napalm an american biography by robert m neer↩3Napalm, An American Biography (book website)↩14Wikipedia: Execution of Nguyễn Văn Lém↩
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Lyrics
English: They never shied away from danger / In the fight against troops from the USA / They were born in the jungle and many lost their lives there / We remember the heroes of North Vietnam and the partisans of the Viet Cong / But from Ba Donh to the Red River, terror swept down from the air / Fleeing napalm and gas, their children became fodder for the bombs / We remember the heroes of North Vietnam and the partisans of the Viet Cong / But they made the last move / Even when the jungle no longer bore any leaves / And they didn't stop shooting until the Yanks left their country / We remember the heroes of North Vietnam and the partisans of the Viet Cong __________ German: Sie scheutten niemals die Gefahr / Im kampf gegen Truppen de USA / Im dschungel waren sie geboren und viele haben dortinr leben verloren / Wir gedenken der Helden von NordVietnam und den Partisanen vom vietcong / Doch von Ba Donh bis Zum Roten, Fluss fegte der terror aus der luft / Auf der Flucht vor napalm und gas wurden ihre kinder zum bombenfrass / Wir gedenken der Helden von NordVietnam und den Partisanen vom vietcong / Doch sie machten den letzten zug / Selbst als der Dschungel kein laub mehr trug / Und sie hielten nicht auf zu schiessen, bis die Amis Ihrland verliessen / Wir gedenken der Helden von NordVietnam und den Partisanen vom vietcong
About the artist
Razzia is a German punk/post-punk band formed in Hamburg (1979 per Wikipedia), active roughly 1979-1992, 1993-2004 and 2008 to the present, known for politically pointed German-language lyrics. Founding members included brothers Andreas and Peter Siegler with Thomas Harm; the lineup changed repeatedly. "Helden von Nordvietnam" ("Heroes of North Vietnam") appears as a live recording on the compilation "Rest Of 1981-1992 Vol. 1", placing its origin in that era - likely early-to-mid 1980s, recorded as a date fact. [Source: Wikipedia]