Massacres of My Lai (Song My) and Truong An

Annotation

Tom Parrott, born in Washington D.C., USA, in 1944, a prominent member of the contemporary folk scene in the 1960s, wrote many political songs addressing the Vietnam War, such as the song The Freedoms We've Been Fighting For (1967), the song Hole in the Ground (1968), and the song Pinkville Helicopter (1971), below. He frequently appeared in Broadside, with eleven songs published. (1) This was a mimeographed publication founded in 1962 by Sis Cunningham and Gordon Friesen, that promoted contemporary folk and protest songs. It also had a music label: Broadside Records. It usually published both lyrics and notations of songs, as well as articles and interviews about folk music, and newspaper clippings of current events. While many of the songs would have been played at the folk clubs and festivals, not all of them were recorded. The song "The Massacres of My Lai (Song My) and Truong An" appears to be one of those never recorded. It originally featured in Broadside # 103, December 1969. It gave an account of the massacre, narrated from the perspective of a soldier who took part, who repeated the line that "orders came down from the brass for everything we done" - the official line…

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Annotation — My Lai & Lt. William Calley Songs

Tom Parrott, born in Washington D.C., USA, in 1944, a prominent member of the contemporary folk scene in the 1960s, wrote many political songs addressing the Vietnam War, such as the song "The Freedoms We've Been Fighting For" (1967), the song "Hole in the Ground" (1968), and two songs about the My Lai massacre: "The Massacres of My Lai (Song My) and Truong An" (1969) and "Pinkville Helicopter" (1971). He frequently appeared in Broadside, with eleven songs published. (1) This was a mimeographed publication founded in 1962 by Sis Cunningham and Gordon Friesen, that promoted contemporary folk and protest songs. It also had a music label: Broadside Records. It usually published both lyrics and notations of songs, as well as articles and interviews about folk music, and newspaper clippings of current events. While many of the songs would have been played at the folk clubs and festivals, not all of them were recorded.The song "The Massacres of My Lai (Song My) and Truong An" appears to be one of those never recorded. It originally featured in Broadside # 103, December 1969. It gave an account of the massacre, narrated from the perspective of a soldier who took part, who repeated the…

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

About the artist

Born 1944, Washington, DC, USA.

Themes

My Lai · Anti-Calley · Anti-War · VC · Calley-Order

In collections

My Lai & Lt. William Calley Songs · Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs