Vi visste ingenting

Annotation

Swedish. Progressive folk. Anti-war. All 8 songs referenced or focused on Vietnam and American 'imperialism'.1 Befria Södern (# BS-1) Vi Visste Ingenting (We Did Nothing) Leve Det Vietnamesiska Folkets Befrielsekamp (Long live The Vietnamese People's Liberation Struggle) Brevet Från Lyndon (Letter From Lyndon) McNamara-visan (McNamara-Song) Sången Om Reaktionen (Song About the Reaction) Balladen Om LBJ (Ballad of LBJ) Lilla Fröken An (Little Miss Ancestry) Befria Södern! (Liberate the South)Sources1lars-daniel.se: Knutna navar↩

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Lyrics

English: 'We didn't know,' said the American, Watching Johnson on color TV. 'We’ll probably have to bomb the whole of Vietnam out.' __________ Swedish: Vi visste ej sade amerikanen och tittade på Johnson i färg-TV Vi måste nog bomba ut hela Vietnam

Notes

Befria Södern BS 1 (sleeve: BS 1A-B), 33 r.p.m.; red labels with silver print. The front cover is a silhouette of a raised arm holding a rifle against an orange disc on blue, titled "freedom singers 68". The Swedish back notes say the Freedom Singers had sung against "USA:s krig i Vietnam" at Vietnam meetings and demonstrations since the first group formed in 1965; most songs were written by members, some adapted from American protest songs ("Vi visste ingenting", "Brevet från Lyndon", "McNamara-visan"), and "Befria Södern!" is a translation of the FNL national anthem. The record was issued by De Förenade FNL-grupperna on its own label Befria Södern as its first release, all performers worked unpaid, and royalties and part of the 15-krona price went to the Vietnam collection for the FNL; contributors listed include Per Erik Andersson, Maj Asplund, Joy Benigh, Olle Brusse, Gunnar…

About the artist

Collective name for the song choirs of the Swedish FNL movement (FNL-grupperna) in Stockholm and Gothenburg, late 1960s to early 1970s; released albums on the Befria Södern label. Participants included Mia Gerdin, Maria Hörnelius, Marie Selander, Curt-Eric Holmquist and Slim Lidén. Based in Sweden. [Source: Swedish Wikipedia]

Themes

Anti-War · LBJ · Hitler · China (Cold War)

In collections

European Songs · Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]