Ballad of Lt. William Calley
1971 · Preview 1907 · Hollywood, California
- Artist
- Gene Marshall
- Title
- Ballad of Lt. William Calley
- Release
- The Ballad of Lt. William Calley / American Is My Country
- Year
- 1971
- Label
- Preview # 1907
- Format
- 7" · Single
- Language
- English
- Country
- Hollywood, California, USA
- Songwriter
- John Montague
- Genre
- Traditional Pop · Traditional Pop
- Primary theme
- US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs
Annotation
Gene Marshall (aka Gene Merlino & John Muir), born in San Francisco, California (and based in Hollywood), recorded over 10,000 song-poems - song lyrics, sent to specialist publishing and recoding companies, usually in response to an advertisement, that have been set to music for a fee (around $200-400). (1) Hundreds of them dealt with political issues, including the Vietnam War. The song "The Ballad of Lt. William Calley" (Preview Records # 1952) defended Calley and argued for a presidential pardon: "you deserve a pardon Lt. Calley". Strangely, the lyrics also declared Calley to be fit for presidential office: "Calley would have been a splendid president". Once again, this was a Calley song that did not make a political statement about the Vietnam War, although this song does have the feel of blind patriotism, backing the soldier no-matter-what. Marshall also released the records "The Story of William Calley" (Preview # 2139) and "The Battle of Mai Lai" (Preview # 2182).
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Annotation — My Lai & Lt. William Calley Songs
- Song poem, traditional pop - Hollywood, California - Same title as above, but different lyrics
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
About the artist
Born San Francisco, California, USA
Themes
Patriotic · My Lai · Pro-Calley · Calley-Justice · Nixon · Song Poem
In collections
My Lai & Lt. William Calley Songs · Song Poems · US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs