Ballad of My Lai

Annotation

Released in 1970, the country song "Ballad of My Lai" (Danrite Records # DR-115), released on a Dallas, Texas based label. Composed by Thurman McKinney and Donald Peck, produced by Chas Wright. The narrator blamed the massacre of women and children on the politicians and military, not on Calley, because they had "placed the gun in his hand". This song also noted that Vietnam was a "war we could never win" - perhaps indicating that the war had been a mistake, a view in line with public opinion polls.1 It does not really fit into either the "anti-war" or "patriotic" song category. It largely dealt with how the war affected soldiers and civilians.Sources1VWSP - Anti-War Movement and the Opinion Polls↩

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Lyrics

English: There once was an army Lieutenant, handsome dashing, and gay... / One day at the start of a battle near a village in South Vietnam, people were running and hiding... / Women and children alike... / In a ditch they were found, their blood stained the ground... / Now who will stand in the judgement... / We sent him into the battle / A war we could never win / We placed the gun in his hand and sent him to that foreign land... / Now the judgement is in the higher hands

Notes

Danrite Records DR-115 (SON 93751); "Ballad of My Lai" (Thurman McKinney – Donald Peck), time 3:30, "Mod Country"; Danrite Music BMI; producer Chas. Wright; "Natl. Dist. F.E.I. Sales – P.O. Box 701, Nashville, Tenn. 37202". Turquoise label. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes

My Lai · Pro-Calley · Anti-War · Anti-Government · Calley-Order · Calley-Justice · Pro-Soldier

In collections

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