Mao Mao

Annotation

Claude Channes, born on 27 April 1943 in Grenoble, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France. This EP featured the song "Mao-Mao", as part of the soundtrack to the film La Chinoise, ou plutôt à la Chinoise: un film en train de se faire [The Chinese, or Rather to the Chinese: A Film in the Making], directed by Jean-Luc Godard. For the full soundtrack see: La chinoise. The song is about Mao Zedong, leader of the People's Republic of China from its foundation until his death in 1976. It references Vietnam in the first line, as well as US president Lyndon B. Johnson, and chemical weapon 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, "Vietnam burns... Johnson laughs... cities are dying... napalm runs... the Yanks kill". This song is a protest against the Vietnam conflict, the Cold War, war, imperialism, and blindly following dictators. Note the reference to North Vietnamese general and politician Võ Nguyên Giáp.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

Annotation — European Songs

Claude Channes, born on 27 April 1943 in Grenoble, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France. This EP featured the song "Mao-Mao", as part of the soundtrack to the film La Chinoise, ou plutôt à la Chinoise: un film en train de se faire [The Chinese, or Rather to the Chinese: A Film in the Making], directed by Jean-Luc Godard. For the full soundtrack see: La chinoise. The song is about Mao Zedong, leader of the People's Republic of China from its foundation until his death in 1976. It references Vietnam in the first line, as well as US president Lyndon B. Johnson, and chemical weapon 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, "Vietnam burns... Johnson laughs... cities are dying... napalm runs... the Yanks kill". This song is a protest against the Vietnam conflict, the Cold War, war, imperialism, and blindly following dictators. Also note the reference to North Vietnamese general and politician Võ Nguyên Giáp.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: Vietnam burns and me, I howl Mao Mao / Johnson laughs and me, I fly Mao Mao / Napalm flows and me, I roll along Mao Mao / Cities die and me, I dream Mao Mao / Whores cry out and me, I laugh Mao Mao / The rice is mad and me, I play Mao Mao / It's the Little Red Book / That at last makes everything move / Imperialism lays down its law everywhere / Revolution is not a dinner party / The A-bomb is a paper tiger / The masses are the real heroes / The Yanks kill and me, I shed my skin Mao Mao / Madmen are kings and me, I drink Mao Mao / The bombs thunder and me, I ring out Mao Mao / The babies flee and me, I flee Mao Mao / The Russians eat and me, I dance Mao Mao / Giap denounces, I renounce Mao Mao / It's the Little Red Book / That at last makes everything move / The base of the army is the soldier / True power grows out of the barrel of a gun / The monsters will all be annihilated / The enemy does not perish of his own accord / Mao Mao / Mao Mao / Mao Mao __________ French: Le Vietnam brûle et moi je hurle Mao Mao / Johnson rigole et moi je vole Mao Mao / Le napalm coule et moi je roule Mao Mao / Les villes crèvent et moi je rêve Mao Mao / Les putains crient et moi je ris Mao Mao / Le riz est fou et moi je joue Mao Mao / C’est le petit livre rouge / Qui fait que tout enfin bouge / L’impérialisme dicte partout sa loi / La révolution n’est pas un dîner / La bombe A est un tigre en papier / Les masses sont les véritables héros / Les Ricains tuent et moi je mue Mao Mao /…

About the artist

French singer born Jean-Claude Champon, best known for the 1968 protest song 'Mao Mao' from Jean-Luc Godard's film La Chinoise. [Source: Wikipedia; Discogs]

Themes

Anti-War · LBJ · Napalm

In collections

European Songs · Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]