Prisoner of War (Do You Know My Name)

Annotation

The 1972 Vietnam War song "Prisoner of War (Do You Know My Name)" (Magic # M-1972-110) looked at the impact of the war on a US soldier, narrated from the perspective of a P.O.W. Released by Zachary & Alexander in Birmingham, Alabama. Written by Robby Robinson. The soldier described fragments of sounds that he experienced in Vietnam, what he saw, and being shot: "twilight in this tropic land...mortar walking round after round...my shirt turned red, I felt the pain". The soldier, taken prisoner, wondered if anybody back in the US knew about him, his name, and whether he would be rescued: "I'm the prisoner and the chains are on me...do you know my name". The lyrics also described the purpose of the war, as seeking to "to set their people free", which thus followed the US government's position on the war.

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Lyrics

English: Do you know the wonder of twilight in this tropic land / On the night that your boy become a man / How the fringe of the palms wave their fern like arms / As you witness the reflections of moon glow charms / Do you know the feeling that goes with this frightful moon and the seal says they'll be coming soon / How you strain your ears to hear the sounds of mortar walking round after round / Do you know the jarring sensation of near hits and misses / How I miss your goodnight kisses, do you know the creeping cold of water and wind as you live in the mud when the tide come in / Well if you don't know I'll set you right / It's the hell of a way to spend the night / Do you know, my shirt turned red, I felt the pain, I prayed to god and damned the rain / We came to this land to set their people free / And now I'm the prisoner and the chains are on me / If you all go back from where you came / Who'll set me free and do you know my name, do you know

Notes

Magic M1972110 / M-1972-110 (A), B3KM-6502, maroon label with a rabbit-and-top-hat logo; "Prisoner of War (Do You Know My Name)" (Robby Robinson), 3:45, Magic City Music Pub. Co., B.M.I.; Magic City Music, 1213 S. 33rd St., Birmingham, Ala. 35205. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes

P.O.W. · Soldier's Perspective

In collections

P.O.W. / M.I.A. Songs · US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]