Mujer del Vietnam

Annotation

The song "Mujer Del Vietnam" ("Women of Vietnam") (Pläne # S 88 106), released in 1972 by Venezuelan singer Ali Primera, born 31 October 1941 in Coro, Falcón, Venezuela, and died 16 February 1985 in Caracas, Distrito Capital, Venezuela. He was part of the Nueva canción latinoamericana movement which developed in Latin America in the 1960s, which featured Latin and South American folk with leftist political and social messages. On the anti-war side as typically seen in this genre, the song took the interesting perspective of looking at the impact of the war on the women of Vietnam, referred to here as "Ho's mother, Ho's daughter" - a reference to the North Vietnam leader Hồ Chí Minh. He Also released the 1969 anti-war album Canciones de protesta, which included three Vietnam War songs: "Inolvidable Ho Chi Minh", "Adelante Vietnam", and "Guerrillero de piel amarilla".

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Lyrics

English: With a son in her hand / And in the other a rifle / The woman of Vietnam / Forges her future / Ho's mother / Ho's daughter / The blood, the sister / The land, the struggle / Of Ho Chi Minh / Woman of the Mekong / Of bamboo and rice / Of rice and bamboo / Where you tread / The future treads / The land, the sister / The daughter, the struggle / Of Ho Chi Minh / A plane is heard in the sky / The bombs fall / On the ground a rooster crowed / A child cried / She gave birth in pain / She gave birth to the future / Woman of Vietnam / Woman of blood and sun / Your soul is a song / Ho's mother / Ho's land / The daughter, the struggle / The blood, the sister / Of Ho Chi Minh / In the arms of the Mekong / You blend in with the reeds / And your little feet / Are the roots of your rice / With your hands / And step by step / You are painting blue the sky / That the invader blackened / Ho's mother / Ho's land / The daughter, the sister / The blood / The struggle / Of Ho Chi Minh __________ Spanish: Con un hijo en la mano / Y en el otro un fusil / La mujer de Vietnam / Labra su porvenir / La madre de Ho / La hija de Ho / La sangre, la hermana / La tierra, la lucha / De Ho Chi Minh / Mujer del Mecón / De bambú y arroz / De arroz y bambú / Donde pisas tú / Pisa el porvenir / La tierra, la hermana / La hija, la lucha / De Ho Chi Minh / En el cielo se oye un avión / Las bombas caen / En la tierra un gallo cantó / Un niño lloró / Parió con dolor / El futuro parió / Mujer del Vietnam /…

Notes

Pläne S 88 106, stereo, "Serie Sieg 6", Verlag "pläne" GmbH, 46 Dortmund, Ruhrallee 62; back sleeve headed "Ali Primera — Lieder der Dritten Welt — Für eine einzige Welt". "Mujer del Vietnam" (B5), 3.50; Text und Musik: Ali Primera; Arrangements: Wilson de Oliveira; Ali Primera (Venezuela): Gesang, Gitarre, "Cuatro", Percussions; Wilson "Yiyé" de Oliveira (Uruguay): Flöte, Gitarre; Michael Bahner (Westberlin): Kontrabaß; Sherry Bertram (Westberlin): Schlagzeug, Percussion. Recorded ("aufgenommen") in May 1972; Aufnahmeleitung: Theo König; cover design Bernhard Nickel; photos Ingo Barth. The front shows Primera in a red polo-neck tuning a guitar; the back carries a German-language essay on the protest song as the voice of Third World peoples, quoting Fidel Castro, ending "Wenn der Maulkorb fällt, ist es leichter, die Ketten zu sprengen" [When the muzzle falls, it is easier to break the…

About the artist

Venezuelan singer-songwriter and political activist, born 31 October 1942 in Coro, Venezuela; central figure of the Venezuelan protest-song movement; died 16 February 1985 in Caracas in a car accident. [Source: Wikipedia]

Themes

Anti-War

In collections

European Songs · Latin & Central American, & Caribbean Music · Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]