The Cry of My Lai

Annotation

The traditional country song "The Cry of My Lai" (Gold Standard Records # GS-310) - one of the few songs that condemns the massacre, with the narrator telling Calley that "the devil possesses your soul", against the background sound-effect of an infant crying. He asked: "hey lieutenant, can you still hear the small babies cry?". He also wondered if Calley had acted as if in a childhood game: "did the frightened child remind you of a smiling boy, who plays war at home and the gun is only a toy". Released in Nashville, Tennessee, written by Johnny Adams and Ivan Meece.

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Lyrics

English: There in a ditch in My Lai, a small baby cried / Any man that would do this is bound to be possessed by the devil himself in disguise / They may set him free, but he'll still hear that small baby cry / Hey lieutenant, you're not god, don't you know / You're just a lieutenant, and the devil possesses your soul / Did the frightened child remind you of a smiling boy / Who plays war at home and the gun is only a toy / Did anyone pray to god that day, was he old enough to ask why / Hey lieutenant, can you still hear the small babies cry... / Has god grown weak and the devil grown strong in a man... / Hey lieutenant, will death set you free from My Lai

Notes

Standard Records, "Record Row", Nashville, Tenn.; Record Number GS-310-A, gold label with shield logo; "The Cry of 'My Lai'" (Johnny Adams & Ivan Meece), sung by Ivan Lee, 2:50, Junellin Music Co., BMI. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes

My Lai · Anti-War · Anti-Calley

In collections

My Lai & Lt. William Calley Songs · Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]