Ballad of My Lai
1970 · Danrite DR-115 · Dallas, Texas
- Artist
- Matt McKinney
- Title
- Ballad of My Lai
- Release
- Ballad of My Lai / Hungry Road
- Year
- 1970
- Label
- Danrite # DR-115
- Format
- 7" · Single
- Language
- English
- Country
- Dallas, Texas, USA
- Songwriter
- Thurman McKinney, Donald Peck
- Genre
- Country · Country
- Primary theme
- Peace, Protest & Anti-War
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.
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Themes
My Lai · Pro-Calley · Anti-War · Anti-Government · Calley-Order · Calley-Justice
In collections
My Lai & Lt. William Calley Songs · US Combat Perspective Songs