Letter to My Mother From Vietnam (Partial)
1967 · Centaur IFK 302 · Chicago, Illinois
- Artist
- Pompeo Stillo
- Title
- Letter to My Mother From Vietnam (Partial)
- Release
- A Letter to My Mother From Vietnam / He Was a Guitar Player and Now Plays Machinegun in Vietnam
- Year
- 1967
- Label
- Centaur # IFK 302
- Format
- 7" · Single
- Language
- English
- Country
- Chicago, Illinois, USA
- Songwriter
- Pompeo Stillo
- Genre
- Garage Rock · Garage Rock
- Primary theme
- Home Front Perspective / Soldier's Perspective
Annotation — US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs
Garage rock track called "He Was a Guitar Player and Now Plays Machine Gun In Vietnam" (Centaur # IFK 302) - the title sums up the story told in the lyrics. The narrator said that a good, friendly boy "liked to enjoy music" and that he "played guitar all over the country". The boy then "joined the army" in order to commit his life to "the flag and to liberty". And thus, the boy, instead of playing guitar, used a machine gun in Vietnam. The artist, Pompeo Stillo originally came from the Italian region Calabria, and immigrated with his parents to the US. He lived in Chicago, where he owned Italian Tapes and Record Store. (1) (2) (3)
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
About the artist
Calabria, Italy