Trap for Vietnam
Camille 125 · New York City, New York
- Artist
- Little Sonnie Mays
- Title
- Trap for Vietnam
- Release
- Trap for Vietnam / Sonnie Mays
- Label
- Camille # 125
- Format
- 7" · Single
- Language
- English
- Country
- New York City, New York, USA
- Songwriter
- C. A. Rogers
- Genre
- Calypso · Calypso · Novelty
- Primary theme
- Peace, Protest & Anti-War
Annotation — Christmas Songs
Calypso anti-war song "Trap for Vietnam" (Camille Records # 125) by Little Sonnie Mays - no further biographical information in known at this time. It was released on a Bronx, New York record label, founded by Camille E. Hodge, who was born in the Virgin Islands, and immigrated to the US when he was 15 years old. His label released many calypso records. (1) The song started with a novelty / comedy approach, suggesting that the best way to win the war was to take the US women and "send them to Vietnam...in a bikini", to distract the Chinese - hence the title of the song. At the end of the song, the narrator turned serious, taking a strong anti-war position, and bringing a social-economic component into it: "a rich man war, and a poor man fight, let us stop this war now". The narrator show sympathy for "all the mothers crying" at home and the difficulties of the soldier. It also referenced the Christmas holiday: "let them spend Christmas" at home, and "let us dine hand in hand".
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Themes
In collections
Christmas Songs · Latin & Central American, & Caribbean Music