Soldier's Sad Story
1967 · Excello 2287 · USA
- Artist
- Tiny Watkins
- Title
- Soldier's Sad Story
- Release
- Soldier's Sad Story / Love Flows Like a River
- Year
- 1967
- Label
- Excello # 2287
- Format
- 7" · Single
- Language
- English
- Country
- USA
- Genre
- Soul, Gospel & Funk · Soul
- Primary theme
- Home Front Perspective / Soldier's Perspective
Annotation
The title of Tiny Watkins soul song "Soldier's Sad Story" (Excello Records # 2287) sought to portray the feeling of the drafted soldier in Vietnam: "I'm not so very brave, but still I have to fight". In a first person narration, at the end of the song the soldier pleads with the president, Lyndon B. Johnson: "LBJ...help me if you can" because "I don't want to lose my baby", thus also reflecting a common fear among soldiers (often referred to in Vietnam War songs). This was the title track of the 2003 Vietnam compilation A Soldier's Sad Story: Vietnam Through the Eyes of Black America 1966-73 (Kent # CDKEND 226).
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
About the artist
Eugene "Tiny" Watkins was a deep soul singer; Sir Shambling's Deep Soul Heaven records his own "a native of Mobile, Alabama" self-identification on his Aquarian 45, though other accounts call him originally Mississippian. "A Soldier's Sad Story" b/w "Love Flows Like A River" (Excello 2287, 1967), his first Excello release, carries an Aaron Varnell arrangement; the flip remakes a song from his 1958 Sandy 45. The A-side titles Ace's compilation "A Soldier's Sad Story: Vietnam Through The Eyes Of Black America". No death information was located. [Source: Sir Shambling's; Discogs]
Themes
In collections
Draft Songs · US Combat Perspective Songs · Soul, Gospel, & Funk Songs