Soldiers Prayer

Annotation — P.O.W. / M.I.A. Songs

Hoyt Scoggins ("Rev. William Hoyt Scoggins") - born 9 January 1926 in Lafayette, Georgia, he started his recording career in the 1950s, writing and playing country music. He held, along with his wife Jessie Mae, several pastorates in churches across North Georgia, including his last known location in Rome, Georgia.123 His two sons served in the Vietnam War, Robert Dolan Scoggins and Ty Scoggins.4 This single, from Atlanta, Georgia, probably released in the early 1970s, contained two Vietnam-related tracks, both of which contained strong religious elements. The first song "Prisoner of Vietnam" (Gaye Records # 3037) addressed the P.O.W. issue. Narrated in the first person from the perspective of a soldier "captured by the guerrillas", he described how his captors tortured and tried to brainwash him. But he told the listener that with the help of god he resisted "their ways". He then said that the North Vietnamese "beheaded my buddy" (Note: there were a few cases of people being beheaded during the war). The soldier managed to escape the prison, hiding in the jungle and foxholes. The second song on the single "Soldier's Prayer" told the story of a US army captain who overheard one of his men singing a prayer to god. That song also viewed the war as a fight for freedom. In 1968 he recorded the song "Returned Package From Vietnam" (Starday Records # 5479).5 Sources1Rockabilly Hall of Fame: Hoyt Scoggins — Rockabilly Legend↩2Hillbilly-Music.com: Hoyt Scoggins↩3Hillbilly-Music.com: Hoyt Scoggins↩4talleysparkviewchapel.com (link no longer available)↩5The Starday Story: The House That Country Music Built (Nathan D. Gibson, 2011)↩

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Annotation — US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs

Hoyt Scoggins ("Rev. William Hoyt Scoggins") - born 9 January 1926 in Lafayette, Georgia, he started his recording career in the 1950s, writing and playing country music. He held, along with his wife Jessie Mae, several pastorates in churches across North Georgia, including his last known location in Rome, Georgia.123 His two sons served in the Vietnam War, Robert Dolan Scoggins and Ty Scoggins.4 This single, from Atlanta, Georgia, probably released in the early 1970s, contained two Vietnam-related tracks, both of which contained strong religious elements. The first song "Prisoner of Vietnam" (Gaye Records # 3037) addressed the P.O.W. issue. Narrated in the first person from the perspective of a soldier "captured by the guerrillas", he described how his captors tortured and tried to brainwash him. But he told the listener that with the help of god he resisted "their ways". He then said that the North Vietnamese "beheaded my buddy" (Note: there were a few cases of people being beheaded during the war). The soldier managed to escape the prison, hiding in the jungle and foxholes. The second song on the single "Soldier's Prayer" told the story of a US army captain who overheard one of his men singing a prayer to god. That song also viewed the war as a fight for freedom. In 1968 he recorded the song "Returned Package From Vietnam" (Starday Records # 5479).5"Soldier's Prayer" Patriotic, religion, peace.1Rockabilly Hall of Fame: Hoyt Scoggins — Rockabilly Legend↩2Hillbilly-Music.com: Hoyt Scoggins↩3Hillbilly-Music.com: Hoyt Scoggins↩4talleysparkviewchapel.com (link no longer available)↩5The Starday Story: The House That Country Music Built (Nathan D. Gibson, 2011)↩

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Lyrics

English: I'm a captain in the United States army, over a company of soldier / Over in Vietnam, I wonder if you folks back home think about us over here / Or do you really realise that we over here are fighting another war / So that we can still live in a land of freedom, it made me stop to think / Last night when I passed a soldier's foxhole and suddenly found myself / Inspired by a most humble and beautiful prayer, this little soldier was kneeling / On his knees in a most humble fashion, and my heart almost broke as I saw / The tears streaming down his face, and heard him pray this pray / He said 'dear god, I know I'm unfit to talk to one as good as you / I know I felt many times in Church back home but it seems like the right words / Just wouldn't come through...I know you love is great enough to cover all / And I'm scared god, and there's no one to help me now but you god / Can you make people love one another again and care for the fellow man / So we wouldn't have to fight these awful wars, because god I'm not mad... / And another thing god, please let me go back home from Vietnam

Notes

Gaye Records, yellow label, P.O. Box 13612 Station K, Atlanta, Ga.; Record No. 3037-1 "Prisoner of Vietnam" (Hoyt Scoggins), time 2:00, and Record No. 3037-2 "Soldiers Prayer" (Hoyt Scoggins), time 2:31, both Margie Music, BMI, "A Gaye Talent Production". The "Soldiers Prayer" label is signed in ink by Hoyt Scoggins. [From the record sleeve and labels]

About the artist

Born 9 January 1926, Lafayette, Georgia, USA

Themes

Patriotic · Religion · Soldier's Perspective · Foxhole · Anti-War

In collections

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