Song for Hugh Thompson

Annotation

David Rovics, a contemporary folk singer born in 1967, in New York, is currently based in Portland, Oregon. He has written and recorded dozens of songs on various wars, such as Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Arab-Israeli dispute, and on other political, social, and environmental issues.1 On this album, self-released, featured the track "Song for Hugh Thompson", which paid tribute to Hugh Thompson Jr. - a US army helicopter pilot, who tried to stop the My Lai massacre, reported the incident over the radio, and later to his superiors. He received the Soldier's Medal in 1998.2 The lyrics told a version of his story, in the third person. It set the scene, with Thompson in Vietnam "fighting for old glory on a far off foreign shore", just like many other soldiers. He then came across the unlawful killing of civilians, and Thompson "decided at that moment to fight for what was right". In doing so, he "served his country well" and "saved the lives of a dozen kids".Sources1davidrovics.com (archived copy)↩2The Guardian↩

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Annotation — My Lai & Lt. William Calley Songs

David Rovics, a contemporary folk singer born in 1967, in New York, is currently based in Portland, Oregon. He has written and recorded dozens of songs on various wars, such as Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Arab-Israeli dispute, and on other political, social, and environmental issues.1 On this album, self-released, featured the track "Song for Hugh Thompson", which paid tribute to Hugh Thompson Jr. - a US army helicopter pilot, who tried to stop the My Lai massacre, reported the incident over the radio, and later to his superiors. He received the Soldier's Medal in 1998.2 The lyrics told a version of his story, in the third person. It set the scene, with Thompson in Vietnam "fighting for old glory on a far off foreign shore", just like many other soldiers. He then came across the unlawful killing of civilians, and Thompson "decided at that moment to fight for what was right". In doing so, he "served his country well" and "saved the lives of a dozen kids". Sources1davidrovics.com (archived copy)↩2The Guardian↩

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Lyrics

English: Hugh Thompson was a pilot, just like many more / Fighting for Old Glory on a far off, foreign shore / He was on a lethal mission, only one of many / Following his orders to kill the enemy, to kill the enemy / He flew low above the village, searching for the foe / When he saw a wounded child on the path below / He thought this to be a sure sign that the enemy was near / So he radioed for back up and more choppers did appear... / 'Help the wounded' he cried out, and beware of an attack / And then the child died by a bullet through her back / And when he looked around for the culprits of the scene / It was a company of men in U.S. military green, U.S. military green / The dead were in the hundreds, strewn all around / In this place called My Lai, which once had been a town / There was a hut of huddled children, soldiers had them in their sights / Hugh decided at that moment to fight for what was right... / 'Train your weapons on the G.I.'s' and his 'copter crews obeyed / And stood among the children, tattered and afraid / The whole town had been murdered, but for some kids and widowed wives / And Hugh Thompson made sure that those remaining would survive... / It was a fifteen minute stand-off in a knee-deep sea of red / Amidst the moaning of the dying and the silence of the dead / Hugh Thompson was a soldier and he served his country well / On the day he saved the lives of a dozen kids in hell

About the artist

American protest folk singer-songwriter (born 1967), prolific writer of topical political songs including several on the Vietnam War's legacy. Based in Portland, Oregon. [Source: Wikipedia; artist website]

Themes

Anti-War · My Lai · Anti-Calley · Hugh Thompson

In collections

My Lai & Lt. William Calley Songs