El niño de Viet-Nam

Annotation

José de Molina, born in 1938, in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico. He died 9 July 1998, in Tlalpan, Distrito Federal, Mexico. He released the anti-war song "El niño de Vietnam" ("The Boy From Vietnam") (Nueva Voz Latino Americana ‎# JS-09/10) which is a Corrido song - corridos traditional spread news in Mexican territories through folk music in the late 18th century. Musicians continued this tradition in the US, singing about wars and political events, such as the assassinations of JFK, RFK, and MLK. (1) (2) The song started with the narrator calling on young Americans to protest, and resist the draft call: "stop the Vietnam War...refuse to fight, oppose the laws made to kill". The narrator then turned his attention to the impact of the war on the Vietnamese: "lonely children...orphans...women who wonder homeless". The song refered to the US soldeirs as "vile mercenaries", who were commiting a "massacre".

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Annotation — Draft Songs

José de Molina, born in 1938, in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico. He died 9 July 1998, in Tlalpan, Distrito Federal, Mexico. He released the anti-war song "El niño de Vietnam" ("The Boy From Vietnam") (Nueva Voz Latino Americana ‎# JS-09/10) which is a Corrido song - corridos traditional spread news in Mexican territories through folk music in the late 18th century. Musicians continued this tradition in the US, singing about wars and political events, such as the assassinations of JFK, RFK, and MLK.12 The song started with the narrator calling on young Americans to protest, and resist the draft call: "stop the Vietnam War...refuse to fight, oppose the laws made to kill". The narrator then turned his attention to the impact of the war on the Vietnamese: "lonely children...orphans...women who wonder homeless". The song referred to the US soldiers as "vile mercenaries", who were committing a "massacre".Sources1Corridos in Migrant Memory (Martha I. Chew Sánchez, 2006)↩2¡Corrido!: The Living Ballad of Mexico's Western Coast (John Holmes McDowell, 2015)↩

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Annotation — Latin & Central American, & Caribbean Music

José de Molina, born in 1938, in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico. He died 9 July 1998, in Tlalpan, Distrito Federal, Mexico. He released the anti-war song "El niño de Vietnam" ("The Boy From Vietnam") (Nueva Voz Latino Americana ‎# JS-09/10) which is a Corrido song - corridos traditional spread news in Mexican territories through folk music in the late 18th century. Musicians continued this tradition in the US, singing about wars and political events, such as the assassinations of JFK, RFK, and MLK.12 The song started with the narrator calling on young Americans to protest, and resist the draft call: "stop the Vietnam War...refuse to fight, oppose the laws made to kill". The narrator then turned his attention to the impact of the war on the Vietnamese: "lonely children...orphans...women who wonder homeless". The song referred to the US soldiers as "vile mercenaries", who were committing a "massacre". Sources1Corridos in Migrant Memory (Martha I. Chew Sánchez, 2006)↩2¡Corrido!: The Living Ballad of Mexico's Western Coast (John Holmes McDowell, 2015)↩

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Lyrics

English: Hear these laments, young American / They come from the East, crushed by your hand / Young and old alike / They ask you to stop, they want you to halt / The Vietnam War / Take off the blindfold and refuse to fight / Oppose the laws made to kill / And if there is a heaven, as it is written / Think first before you shoot / It is the sad weeping of lonely children / Left orphaned by your vile mercenaries / They are lonely women wandering without a home / Who cry out begging you to stop the massacre / Don't be immoral / Black and yellow people are your brothers / Do not kill them, have compassion on them / Because if you must make your history with blood / That same river will make you perish __________ Spanish: Oye estos lamentos joven Americano / Vienen del oriente aplastado por tu mano / Jóvenes y ancianos pues lo mismo da / Te piden que pares quieren que detengas / La guerra del Vietnam / Quítate la venda niégate a luchar / Oponte a las leyes hechas para matar / Y si existe el cielo como escrito esta / Piénsalo primero antes de disparar / Es el llanto triste de niños solitarios / Que huérfanos dejan tus viles mercenarios / Son mujeres solas que vagan sin hogar / Que a gritos te ruegan pares la masacre / No seas inmoral / Negros y Amarillos tus hermanos son / No los asesines tenles compasión / Porque si con sangre tu historia has de hacer / Ese mismo rió te hará perecer

Notes

Double LP, "José de Molina presenta...", issued by Nueva Voz Latinoamericana A.C., Apartado postal 12-106, México 1, D.F.; cover number JS-09/10, label LP-JS 09, Disco 1 (Uno), Lado B, 33 1/3 RPM, yellow label with pre-Columbian figure logo. Disco 1, Cara B opens with "El niño de Viet-Nam" (arr. Grupo FAR), followed by a spoken "Texto"; Letra y Música: José de Molina; Textos: Ma. Antonieta Lozano y Carlos Medina. Performers listed: Grupo FAR (Miguel Pizano, Ramón y Edgardo Olvera, con Víctor Hugo Santos), Grupo Tepeyolohtli, Grupo Cascabel; solo voices Lourdes Zubieta, Adriana Díaz de León, Othoniel Llanas and J. de Molina; texts read by Julia Alfonso, L. M. and José de Molina. Cover paintings "Concilio sangriento" and "El túnel de los muertos" by René Alís; sleeve design Eduardo Rodríguez Solís. The record is dedicated "a los hombres y mujeres que han caído en la lucha por la…

About the artist

Born 1938, Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico.Died 9 July 1998, Tlalpan, Distrito Federal, Mexico.

Themes

Anti-War · Draft Resistance · Orphan · Vietnamese Perspective · Draft

In collections

Amerasians, Orphans & Vietnamese Children · Draft Songs · Latin & Central American, & Caribbean Music · Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]