See What You Done Done (Hymn No. 9)

Annotation

The 1971 track "See What You Done, Done (Hymn No. 9)", a raw angry cry against the army and government that sent her son "back to me a stoned junkie… my son died from an overdose... while he was fighting in your war", an early representative of a Vietnam veteran who became a drug addict. Through highlighting the negative impact of the war, it leans towards the anti-war side.Composed by Atlanta, Georgian soul singer Delia Gartrell and her husband James T. Shaw, otherwise known as The Mighty Hannibal (he also released a Vietnam War song in 1966 with a similar name, but different theme - Hymn No. 5). This Delia Gartrell single, originally released on the obscure Atlanta label Demin-Kalo (# JS-2/JS-3), was soon after picked up by the larger New York label Right-On Records (RR0-109). Hannibal explained in an interview that the inspiration for writing "See What You Done, Done": "Me and my wife were watching the news and Walter Cronkite was talking about how all the soldiers were coming back from Vietnam addicted to opium".1Sources1Creative Loafing: Soul legend the Mighty Hannibal's day of reckoning (Chad Radford, 14 January 2009)↩

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Annotation — Soul, Gospel, & Funk Songs

The 1971 track "See What You Done, Done (Hymn No. 9)", a raw angry cry against the army and government that sent her son "back to me a stoned junkie… my son died from an overdose... while he was fighting in your war", an early representative of a Vietnam veteran who became a drug addict. Through highlighting the negative impact of the war, it leans towards the anti-war side. Composed by Atlanta, Georgian soul singer Delia Gartrell and her husband James T. Shaw, otherwise known as The Mighty Hannibal (he also released a Vietnam War song in 1966 with a similar name, but different theme - Hymn No. 5). This Delia Gartrell single, originally released on the obscure Atlanta label Demin-Kalo (# JS-2/JS-3), was soon after picked up by the larger New York label Right-On Records (RR0-109). Hannibal explained in an interview that the inspiration for writing "See What You Done, Done": "Me and my wife were watching the news and Walter Cronkite was talking about how all the soldiers were coming back from Vietnam addicted to opium".1Sources1Creative Loafing: Soul legend the Mighty Hannibal's day of reckoning (Chad Radford, 14 January 2009)↩

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Lyrics

English: Can't you see what you done done to my only son, my only son... / While he was fighting in your war / America, I gave you my only son / Right away you sent him off / To fight in Vietnam... / He was a good soldier and he really did his part / I was so proud when he won that medal / The one they call the Purple Heart / I didn't know that when he went off to serve his country / I didn't know you'd send him back to me a stoned junkie... / I watched him one day take some money from my purse / That's when I knew his habit had gotten worse... / My son died from an overdose

Notes

Original pressing Demin-Kalo JS-2 / JS-3 (1971). Reissued on Right-On Records RRO-109 (RRO 109 A), "A Division of Farem Productions, Inc."; "See What You Done, Done (Hymn #9)" (J. Shaw - D. Gartrell), Captain Music BMI and Chaca Music BMI, 4:30; Delia Gartrell, arranger Jay T. Shaw, producer Hannibal. [From the Right-On reissue label]

About the artist

Delia Gartrell was an American soul singer, the wife of James Timothy Shaw, better known as The Mighty Hannibal, who wrote and produced for her. 'See What You Done Done (Hymn No. 9)' was issued on Right-On RRO-109 in 1971 and is the best-known record under her name. [Source: Discogs; Sir Shambling's Deep Soul Heaven; Atlanta press obituaries for The Mighty Hannibal]

Themes

Soldier's Perspective · Drugs · Anti-War

In collections

US Domestic Perspective Songs [War Years] · Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years] · Soul, Gospel, & Funk Songs