Moratorium (Bring Our Brothers Home)

Annotation

The song "Moratorium (Bring Our Brother Home)" (RCA Victor # 2081) from the album "She Used to Wanna Be a Ballerina" told the story of soldiers returning from Vietnam to the US and being dismayed by the protest movement. But, Buffy Saint-Marie argued that they protested against the war for the soldiers, to bring them home safely. Moratorium referenced the Moratorium to End the War in Vietnam, a massive demonstration across the US on 15 October 1969, followed up by a march on Washington on 15 November 1969.1Sources1The Encyclopedia of the Vietnam War (Spencer C. Tucker, 2011)↩

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Annotation

- Field recordings, documentary, spoken word - In co-operation with WVUM - student radio station at the University of Miami - B-side: Vietnam War moratorium new report, Chicago 7 / 8 with sound clips

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Annotation — Draft Songs

The song "Moratorium (Bring Our Brother Home)" (RCA Victor # 2081) from the album She Used to Wanna Be a Ballerina told the story of soldiers returning from Vietnam to the US and being dismayed by the protest movement. But, Buffy Saint-Marie argued that they protested against the war for the soldiers, to bring them home safely. Moratorium referenced the Moratorium to End the War in Vietnam, a massive demonstration across the US on 15 October 1969, followed up by a march on Washington on 15 November 1969.1Sources1CBC: Buffy sainte marie↩

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Annotation — Indigenous Americans

Another significant protest / anti-war song from Buffy Sainte-Marie, the track "Moratorium (Bring Our Brother Home)" (RCA Victor # 2081) from the album "She Used to Wanna Be a Ballerina" told the story of soldiers returning from Vietnam to the US and being dismayed by the protest movement. But, Buffy Saint-Marie argued that they protested against the war for the soldiers, to bring them home safely, a very different perspective from her famous "Universal Soldier" song, which placed the blame on the individual soldiers. Moratorium referenced the Moratorium to End the War in Vietnam, a massive demonstration across the US on 15 October 1969, followed up by a march on Washington on 15 November 1969.1Sources1CBC: Buffy sainte marie↩

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Lyrics

English: P.F.C. Mannie Stein had been drafted and gone... / He came home and called some friends, they'd resisted the draft and they both were in prison... / Corporal Thomas McCann is a three year marine... / And he looked at the sign...it said fuck the war / Oh soldiers, it's for you, we formed our little bands... / We're riskin' all we have... / We want to bring you home / We wanna hold you in our arms

Notes

Since the early 1960s, Sainte-Marie claimed to have been born on the Piapot Cree First Nations Reserve in the Qu'Appelle Valley, Saskatchewan, Canada, and that she descended from the Cree. However, a CBS investigation concluded that Sainte-Marie was born in the US, of Italian and English descent. RCA Victor RCA 2081 (ZTSP 222617), stereo, orange label, "Manufactured by RCA Limited, England from master recordings of RCA Records", "A Product of Vanguard Recording Society Inc."; "Moratorium (Bring Our Brothers Home)" (Buffy Sainte-Marie), Caleb Music (MCPS), 4.00; produced by Buffy Sainte-Marie & Jack Nietzsche (AGBKS 0532). Issued in a green and white RCA company sleeve. [From the record sleeve and labels]

About the artist

Born 20 February 1941 in Stoneham, Massachusetts, USA Born 20 February 1941 in Stoneham, Massachusetts, USA Buffy Sainte-Marie, a contemporary folk / singer-songwriter, born 20 February 1941 in Stoneham, Massachusetts, USA, played an active and influential role in the 1960s pacifist movement. Since the early 1960s, Sainte-Marie claimed to have been born on the Piapot Cree First Nations Reserve in the Qu'Appelle Valley, Saskatchewan, Canada, and that she descended from the Cree - one of the largest groups of Native American in North America. However, a CBS investigation, titled "Who is the…

Themes

Anti-War · Draft · Draft Dodger · Demonstration · Fighting For · Counter-Culture & Hippies

In collections

1968 Chicago Seven / Eight Songs · Draft Songs · Indigenous Americans · Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]