If You Love Your Country (Song and Speech Excerpts)

Annotation

The song "Eugene McCarthy for President (If You Love Your Country)" (No label) Contemporary folk, anti-war. 1968 campaign song for Eugene McCarthy, who ran for the Democratic Party presidential nomination, against the president Lyndon B. Johnson, and then Robert F. Kennedy, and Hubert Humphrey - Humphrey eventually won, to take on the Republican Richard Nixon. Group featured Peter Yarrow - he married McCarthy's niece, whom he met on the campaign trail - Paul Stookey, and Mary Travers. The song "If You Love Your Country (Song and Speech Excerpts)". This version included speech excerpts from McCarthy. Excerpt 1: "A war which the bishops of Vietnam have recently cried out 'in the name of god, let it end'. A war which has been denounced in the words of the Vietnamese poet who said in the name of humanity let the killing end. I will quote just a few line from his poem, 'a say farewell to the blazing, blackening place where I was born. Here is my breast, aim your gun at my friend and shoot. I offer my body, the body our mother bore and nurtured, destroy it if you will, destroy me if you will and build from my body whatever it is you were dreaming of. Who will be left to celebrate the victory of blood and fire'. And all American I think today should cry out, let this killing end". Excerpt 2: "And this is the significant conclusion of the...commission's report, that we must begin immediately and on a massive scale to attack the causes of unrest and dissent and riots, and to proceed to bring into reach of all Americans all of those things what we call the good life. This was the second dream in the object of Martin Luther King's most recent effort. Now that he has been assassinated in the pursuit of this cause we can resolve only that even more strongly that we will dedicate ourselves to the end that equality may be come in America not a word, or not a phrase or not a desirable object, but in fat a reality in the United States of America". Excerpt 3: "I think we've proved a number of things...that have happened...if all of us...hadn't decided to put democracy to the test. I suppose Lyndon Johnson would still be a candidate for the presidency. I don't know whether we'd be sitting down in Paris today to negotiate the war in Vietnam...My campaign...has set America free".

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Annotation — Civil Rights Songs

The song "If You Love Your Country (Song and Speech Excerpts)". This version included speech excerpts from McCarthy. Excerpt 1: "A war which the bishops of Vietnam have recently cried out 'in the name of god, let it end'. A war which has been denounced in the words of the Vietnamese poet who said in the name of humanity let the killing end. I will quote just a few line from his poem, 'a say farewell to the blazing, blackening place where I was born. Here is my breast, aim your gun at my friend and shoot. I offer my body, the body our mother bore and nurtured, destroy it if you will, destroy me if you will and build from my body whatever it is you were dreaming of. Who will be left to celebrate the victory of blood and fire'. And all American I think today should cry out, let this killing end". Excerpt 2: "And this is the significant conclusion of the...commission's report, that we must begin immediately and on a massive scale to attack the causes of unrest and dissent and riots, and to proceed to bring into reach of all Americans all of those things what we call the good life. This was the second dream in the object of Martin Luther King's most recent effort. Now that he has been assassinated in the pursuit of this cause we can resolve only that even more strongly that we will dedicate ourselves to the end that equality may be come in America not a word, or not a phrase or not a desirable object, but in fat a reality in the United States of America". Excerpt 3: "I think we've proved a number of things...that have happened...if all of us...hadn't decided to put democracy to the test. I suppose Lyndon Johnson would still be a candidate for the presidency. I don't know whether we'd be sitting down in Paris today to negotiate the war in Vietnam...My campaign...has set America free".

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Lyrics

English: If you love your country and the things for which it stands / Vote for Eugene McCarthy and bring peace to this our land / It robes us of the honour that our country's known before / When we will not pursue a peace to end an unjust war / We are all responsible for what's done in this war / Democracy means we can decide, that's what our vote is for... / Our cities crumble from a bomb dropped on a foreign land / And politicians stand and watch and the planes of hate are fanned / But the dream has not yet died my friend, the times can still be changed / With courage we can right the wrongs and end our country's shame... / Now that he's said what's in our hearts, alone he took his stand / He's echoed by more timid men who ask to lead our land / No one is too young to help, no effort is too small / Everyone must are this time, we all must heed the call

Notes

White label with no company name; side A ZTSP 140676, "Eugene McCarthy for President (If You Love Your Country)", "Written and Performed by Peter, Paul and Mary"; side B ZTSP 140677, "If You Love Your Country – Song and Speech Excerpts", "Song: Peter, Paul and Mary / Excerpts: Eugene McCarthy"; both sides published by Pepamar Music Corp., ASCAP. No times are printed. [From the record sleeve and labels]

About the artist

Formed 1961, New York, NY, United States. Disbanded 16 September 2009. Members: Peter Yarrow (vocals), Paul Stookey (vocals, guitar), Mary Travers (vocals)

Themes

Anti-War · Nixon · Civil Rights · LBJ · Eugene McCarthy · MLK

In collections

Civil Rights Songs · Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]