For Hugh Thompson, Who Stood Alone. My Lai Massacre, Vietnam, 1968

Annotation

American rock / alternative folk band The Oaks, formed in Orlando Florida, led by Ryan Costello, released this anti-war, politically infused album in 2005, as the US continued to be involved in conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Costello spent two years in the latter battle zone, working with refugees. This provided the inspiration for many of the songs contained on this album.1 In the track "For Hugh Thompson, Who Stood Alone. My Lai Massacre, Vietnam, 1968", the group looked back to the Vietnam War, by praising Hugh Thompson Jr. - a US army helicopter pilot, who tried to stop the My Lai massacre, reported the incident over the radio, and later to his superiors. He received the Soldier's Medal in 1998.2 The lyrics told of Thompson stepping out of the helicopter with "the eyes of the village" fixed on him. At which point he attempted to stop the massacre. The narrated posed the question: "did justice plant herself as an anchor in you mind?"At the end of the album, the song "Hugh Thompson, the Aftermath" imagined Thompson in Vietnam after the incident: "as you lay in your bunk that night", contemplating the "sorrow of the world found...in a jungle village". The lyrics also considered how Thompson's actions would be received within the army ranks. Sources1AllMusic↩2The Guardian↩

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Annotation — My Lai & Lt. William Calley Songs

American rock / alternative folk band The Oaks, formed in Orlando Florida, led by Ryan Costello, released this anti-war, politically infused album in 2005, as the US continued to be involved in conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Costello spent two years in the latter battle zone, working with refugees. This provided the inspiration for many of the songs contained on this album.1 In the track "For Hugh Thompson, Who Stood Alone. My Lai Massacre, Vietnam, 1968", the group looked back to the Vietnam War, by praising Hugh Thompson Jr. - a US army helicopter pilot, who tried to stop the My Lai massacre, reported the incident over the radio, and later to his superiors. He received the Soldier's Medal in 1998.2 The lyrics told of Thompson stepping out of the helicopter with "the eyes of the village" fixed on him. At which point he attempted to stop the massacre. The narrated posed the question: "did justice plant herself as an anchor in you mind?"Sources1AllMusic↩2The Guardian↩

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Lyrics

English: The helicopter blades spun behind you / And all the eyes of the village were fixed on you / As you stabbed your foot down into the jungle grass... / In the line of fire you raised your hands / As the silence slowly descended between infamy and fame / Your name was on the lips of both angels and demons / Did justice plant herself as an anchor in you mind? / Did the words speak themselves like they were spoken before time? / Did the blood pound in your chest as you face the sergeant down? / Did you feel the power of God surging all around you? As you walked away you felt the weight heavy on your shoulders / The sorrows of the world found their voice in a jungle village.... / The silence still remained as you lay in your bunk that night / As your friends prepared to make of you a sacrifice... / You gave yourself, you gave yourself away

About the artist

American indie rock band from Orlando, Florida, founded by singer-songwriter/guitarist Ryan Costello and drummer/percussionist Matthew Antolick, who met as students at the University of South Florida; active 2006-2009. In 2003 Costello sold his possessions and spent two years doing humanitarian agricultural work with returned refugees in Afghanistan, an experience that shaped the band's music. Both Hugh Thompson songs appear on their debut album 'Our Fathers and the Things They Left Behind' (2006; digitally reissued 2017). [Source: Wikipedia / Spotify-AllMusic bio / Bandcamp]

Themes

My Lai · Anti-Calley · Protest · Hugh Thompson

In collections

My Lai & Lt. William Calley Songs