A Long Long Time Ago

Annotation

The song "A Long, Long Time Ago" (JMT Records # 104), released in 1974, looked at a P.O.W.'s transition from being held in a prison in Vietnam ("behind those bars") for nearly a decade, to returning to the US. Many changes had taken place, from the capture of the narrator in 1966 to his release in 1973: "hair...much longer...values have all changed, my mind is so confused". He also questioned whether he "did...what was needed...was my body merely used" - perhaps a reflection of the change in US public opinion from 1966, when many people considered the war to be necessary, to 1973, when a majority of the public, and politicians, wanted the war to end, and many viewed the conflict as a mistake. The lyrics also included a personal tale. The soldier had just got married in the US when "my country called for me" i.e. drafted to fight in Vietnam. He did not see his new wife for seven years. Released in Washington D.C. Written by Michael Lloyd Lipitz - presumably the artist's real name. Produced by Elmer Willett and Tony Moon.

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Lyrics

English: It was in the spring of '66, I met her at the officers ball / We danced the night away, we were married in the fall / We had shared but a few moments when my country called for me / I wasn't to see my new found love until the spring of '73 / They sent me far away to a land I did not know, they sent me far away, a long, long time ago / And now that I have returned, it's all so different what I see / The book said hair would be much longer / But more importantly, values have all changed / My mind is so confused / Did I do what was needed, was my body merely used / They sent me far away to a land I did not know / They sent me far away, a long, long time ago / In thinking about the time I spent behind those bars / One thing I've come to realise man hasn't come very far / For the thing we take for granted is the most important... / It is living, living that's all, they sent me away to a land

Notes

JMT Records JMT 104B (NR3861-2), stereo, grey label; "A Long Long Time Ago" (Michael Lloyd Lipitz), 4:16, Tom Karter Music—BMI; executive producer Elmer Willett, producer Tony Moon. 1346 Conn. Ave., Washington, D.C. [From the record sleeve and labels]

About the artist

Mick Lloyd, born Michael Lloyd Lipitz, was a Nashville-based independent record producer, arranger, publisher and songwriter associated with the Musicor, Springboard and GRT labels, who led the instrumental ensemble Mick Lloyd's Nashville Music Machine and worked extensively with Roy Sinkovich across several recording and publishing ventures; his own releases included the 1973 American album 'Top of the Heap'. "A Long Time Ago" was subsequently collected by Bear Family on the box set '...Next Stop Is Vietnam (The War on Record: 1961-2008)', where it appears as track 9-4 in the sequence titled…

Themes

Soldier's Perspective · P.O.W.

In collections

Draft Songs · P.O.W. / M.I.A. Songs