Man in Vietnam

Annotation

Tammie McCarroll, born 1959, wrote and recorded the Vietnam / P.O.W. song "Man in Vietnam" (Log Cabin Records # LC3873) in 1972, at the age of 11-12, while still in junior high school. She grew up in Lenoir City, Tennessee, and came from a long line of country and bluegrass musicians, in the Cumberland Plateau region of Tennessee. Her father Tom McCarroll played the fiddle, guitar, and banjo, recording several records and playing in the local music scene. Her grandfather, Jimmy McCarroll, a famous fiddler, led the traditional country group Roane County Ramblers, which released six singles in the late 1920s on Columbia Records.123 This song focused on the impact that a US P.O.W. had on the soldier's family back home. The narrator of the song said that she had "been waiting for a man in Vietnam...in a prison". But she soon revealed that her sweetheart's name appeared on television with the "ones that have been freed", and so she expected to see her loved one again soon. Released in Ohio, on Rusty York's country label. Produced by Frank White. The label credited the backing band to "The McCarroll Family", which included Tom McCarroll on rhythm guitar and Polly McCarroll on bass.& Sources1The Legacy of Jimmy McCarroll↩2friendsofthecumberlandtrail.org: Traditional musicians of the cumberland trail corridor↩3groups.google.com↩

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Annotation — Children on Record

Tammie McCarroll, born 1959, wrote and recorded the Vietnam / P.O.W. song "Man in Vietnam" (Log Cabin Records # LC3873) in 1972, at the age of 11-12, while still in junior high school. She grew up in Lenoir City, Tennessee, and came from a long line of country and bluegrass musicians, in the Cumberland Plateau region of Tennessee. Her father Tom McCarroll played the fiddle, guitar, and banjo, recording several records and playing in the local music scene. Her grandfather, Jimmy McCarroll, a famous fiddler, led the traditional country group Roane County Ramblers, which released six singles in the late 1920s on Columbia Records.123 This song focused on the impact that a US P.O.W. had on the soldier's family back home. The narrator of the song said that she had "been waiting for a man in Vietnam...in a prison". But she soon revealed that her sweetheart's name appeared on television with the "ones that have been freed", and so she expected to see her loved one again soon. Released in Ohio, on Rusty York's country label. Produced by Frank White. The label credited the backing band to "The McCarroll Family", which included Tom McCarroll on rhythm guitar and Polly McCarroll on bass.Sources1The Legacy of Jimmy McCarroll↩2friendsofthecumberlandtrail.org: Traditional musicians of the cumberland trail corridor↩3groups.google.com↩

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Lyrics

English: Yes I'm a girl that's been waiting for a man in Vietnam / So long ago he left me to serve the USA / He served in Vietnam but I've been left to wait / He left me in the summer and he said he won't be too long / I'm a girl that's been waiting for a man in Vietnam / Now they've got him in a prison, somewhere in a foreign land / And I'm the girl who has been waiting for a missing man / I saw his name on TV with the ones that have been freed / And I know that he's coming home to live again with me / He's coming down the runway now and I know I miss him / So I want to hug and kiss him and never let him go

Notes

Log Cabin Records LC3873-1, black and silver label, 45 RPM, "Producer Frank White"; "Man in Vietnam", written and vocal by Tammie McCarroll, credited to Tammie McCarroll and the McCarroll Family; credits: Tammie McCarroll, vocal and rhythm guitar; Tom McCarroll, rhythm; Glenn Presley, steel guitar; Polly McCarroll, bass; Larry Presley, bass guitar. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes

Patriotic · P.O.W. · Child

In collections

US Domestic Perspective Songs [War Years] · Children on Record · P.O.W. / M.I.A. Songs · US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]