Kent State Reprobate

Annotation

The Destructors released the song "Kent State Reprobate", which condemned the actions of the National Guard during the Ohio protests. This punk rock band originally formed in 1977 in Peterborough, UK, featuring Alan Adams (vocals, bass), Neil Singleton (vocals), Andy McDonald (drums), Andy Jackson (guitar), Dave Ithermee (guitar), Graham Butts (guitar). Also known as "Destructors 666". Between 1980-1984 they released a series of singles and EPs on political and religious themes, dealing with Reagan and Thatcherite policies, and looking back at the past. In 1982 they released the song "Agent Orange" about the Vietnam War, on the EP Religion! There is No Religion! (Carnage Benelux # kill 2). Their 1984 compilation The Destructors: A Final Testament (Carnage Benelux # kill 666) said "Bomb Hanoi, Bomb Saigon" on its front cover. In 2005, Alan Adams reformed the band in Peterborough, working with many different musicians across many albums.1 The lyrics started by looking at the objectives of the demonstrators, who wanted "love and peace" and to "stop the war in Vietnam", although some people sought "revolution". But the authorities viewed then as "suppressive communistic crass". So they sent out the National Guard to "teach them a less, go in hard". The narrator noted the event as a turning point in people's lives: "in Ohio, innocence was lost". It also suggested that it had a long-term impact on protest movements, as the National Guard "made them freeze". The song criticised the military for killing the Vietnamese as well as "their own children" on the university campuses.& Vietnam War: Punk SongsSources1destructors666.com (archived copy)↩

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Annotation — Kent / Jackson State Songs

The Destructors released the song "Kent State Reprobate", which condemned the actions of the National Guard during the Ohio protests. This punk rock band originally formed in 1977 in Peterborough, UK, featuring Alan Adams (vocals, bass), Neil Singleton (vocals), Andy McDonald (drums), Andy Jackson (guitar), Dave Ithermee (guitar), Graham Butts (guitar). Also known as "Destructors 666". Between 1980-1984 they released a series of singles and EPs on political and religious themes, dealing with Reagan and Thatcherite policies, and looking back at the past. In 1982 they released the song "Agent Orange" about the Vietnam War, on the EP Religion! There is No Religion! (Carnage Benelux # kill 2). Their 1984 compilation The Destructors: A Final Testament (Carnage Benelux # kill 666) said "Bomb Hanoi, Bomb Saigon" on its front cover. In 2005, Alan Adams reformed the band in Peterborough, working with many different musicians across many albums.1 The lyrics started by looking at the objectives of the demonstrators, who wanted "love and peace" and to "stop the war in Vietnam", although some people sought "revolution". But the authorities viewed then as "suppressive communistic crass". So they sent out the National Guard to "teach them a less, go in hard". The narrator noted the event as a turning point in people's lives: "in Ohio, innocence was lost". It also suggested that it had a long-term impact on protest movements, as the National Guard "made them freeze". The song criticised the military for killing the Vietnamese as well as "their own children" on the university campuses.Sources1destructors666.com (archived copy)↩

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Annotation — Punk Songs

The Destructors released the song "Kent State Reprobate", which condemned the actions of the National Guard during the Ohio protests. This Punk Rock band originally formed in 1977 in Peterborough, UK, featuring Alan Adams (vocals, bass), Neil Singleton (vocals), Andy McDonald (drums), Andy Jackson (guitar), Dave Ithermee (guitar), Graham Butts (guitar). Also known as "Destructors 666". Between 1980-1984 they released a series of singles and EPs on political and religious themes, dealing with Reagan and Thatcherite policies, and looking back at the past. In 1982 they released the song "Agent Orange" about the Vietnam War, on the EP Religion! There is No Religion! (Carnage Benelux # kill 2). Their 1984 compilation The Destructors: A Final Testament (Carnage Benelux # kill 666) said "Bomb Hanoi, Bomb Saigon" on its front cover. In 2005, Alan Adams reformed the band in Peterborough, working with many different musicians across many albums.1 The lyrics started by looking at the objectives of the demonstrators, who wanted "love and peace" and to "stop the war in Vietnam", although some people sought "revolution". But the authorities viewed then as "suppressive communistic crass". So they sent out the National Guard to "teach them a less, go in hard". The narrator noted the event as a turning point in people's lives: "in Ohio, innocence was lost". It also suggested that it had a long-term impact on protest movements, as the National Guard "made them freeze". The song criticised the military for killing the Vietnamese as well as "their own children" on the university campuses.Sources1destructors666.com (archived copy)↩

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Lyrics

English: They say you were suppressive, communistic crass / The day they bought big guns, there's blood upon the grass / It wasn't all about revolution, more about love and peace / Stop the war in Vietnam / Make the pain and horror cease / Kent State Reprobate / Turn to a world of hate / Turn out the Guard, teach them a lesson go in hard / We'll stop for a moment upon that campus ground / The sound of local fire on our children pouring down / They weren't killers or murders just people's son and daughters / On the day the National Guard turned into a teenager slaughter... / On a sunny day in Ohio, innocence was lost / Kent State Reprobate / Turn to a world of hate / Turn out the Guard, teach them a lesson go in hard... / They're killing their own children as well as those of the Vietnamese / We'll remember... / The National Guard made them freeze

About the artist

English punk band formed in the late 1970s in Peterborough, England. [Source: Wikipedia]

Themes

Kent State

In collections

European Songs · Kent / Jackson State Songs · Punk Songs