King Henry

Annotation

Less well-known anti-war / protest from Seeger, the song "King Henry" on Dangerous Songs!? (CBS # 62751). It featured in Broadside Magazine # 58 under the title "I Mind My Own Business", p. 4. Seeger noted: "the quote in the 5th verse is from an actual letter from a US 'adviser' to his wife, a week before he was killed in Viet Nam". It's dated 1965, and to the tune of "Old Ballad Melody". It looked at the perspective of a soldier drafted to war and killed in action (K.I.A.): "drafted in sixty-three... he wrote this last month, last week he was dead". It argued that the war was virtually unwinnable: "we'll have to flatten the country... all gutted and spattered with napalm" - a reference to 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 The song also noted the prominence of T.V. ("television war") - a reflection on both the media portrayal of the war, and the delivery of war images directly into the homes of Americans in the 1960s: "on T.V. some general says 'we must be tough'". Sources1Napalm: An American Biography (Robert M. Neer, 2013)↩2Times Higher Education: Napalm an american biography by robert m neer↩3Napalm, An American Biography (book website)↩

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Lyrics

English: King Henry marched forth, a sword in his hand / Two thousand horsemen all at his command / In a fortnight the rivers ran red through the land / The year fifteen hundred and twenty / The year it is now nineteen sixty-five / It's easier far to stay half-alive / Just keep your mouth shut while the planes zoom and dive / Ten thousand miles over the ocean / Simon was drafted in sixty-three / In sixty-four, sent over the sea / Last month this letter he sent to me / He said "You won't like what I'm sayin'" / He said "We've no friends here, no hardly a one / We've got a few generals who just want our guns / But it'll take more than that if we're ever to win / Why we'll have to flatten the country" / "It's my own troops I have to watch out for", he said / "I sleep with a pistol right under my head" / He wrote this last month, last week he was dead / And Simon came home in a casket I mind my own business, I watch my T.V / Complain about taxes but pay anyway / In a civilized manner my forefathers betrayed / Who long ago struggled for freedom / But each day a new headline screams at my bluff / On T.V. some general says "We must be tough" / In my dreams I stare at this family I love / All gutted and spattered with napalm.

Notes

Also known as "I Mind My Own Business", Broadside Magazine # 58

About the artist

Iconic American contemporary folk singer, Pete Seeger (born 3 May 1919 in Manhattan, New York, USA, died on 27 January 2014, same location) played a key role in the 1950s contemporary folk revival and the 1960s anti-war and Civil Rights movement. He often wrote political songs, protesting against war, segregation, and calling for environmental protection. His body of songs referencing the Vietnam War is significant in both themes and volume: "The Willing Conscript" on the album Broadside Ballads Volume 2 (1963); "Beans in My Ear", "King Henry", and "The Draft Dodger Rag" on Dangerous Songs!?…

Themes

Anti-War · Draft · Napalm · TV War

In collections

Draft Songs · Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years] · Pete Seeger Songs