Vietnam
1985 · Rot ASS 21 · Coatbridge, UK: Scotland
- Artist
- External Menace
- Title
- Vietnam
- Release
- A Kick Up the Arse
- Year
- 1985
- Label
- Rot # ASS 21
- Format
- LP · Compilation
- Language
- English
- Country
- Coatbridge, UK: Scotland
- Genre
- Punk · Punk Rock
- Primary theme
- Post-War
Annotation — Punk Songs
External Menace, a UK82 group, a type of Hardcore Punk, released the song "Vietnam" (Rot Records # ASS 21) on this various artist compilation. The group formed in 1979 in Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire, UK, led by John “Sneddy” Sneddon. According to the group, "the 22" in the lyrics "refers to the victims of a mass shooting by a Vietnam Vet in a fast food restaurant, which was the inspiration for the song". This is known as the "San Ysidro McDonald's massacre".1 Sources1Wikipedia: San Ysidro McDonald's massacre↩
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Annotation — European Songs
External Menace, a UK82 group, a type of Hardcore Punk, released the song "Vietnam" (Rot Records # ASS 21) on this various artist compilation. The group formed in 1979 in Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire, UK, led by John “Sneddy” Sneddon. According to the group, "the 22" in the lyrics "refers to the victims of a mass shooting by a Vietnam Vet in a fast food restaurant, which was the inspiration for the song". This is known as the "San Ysidro McDonald's massacre".1Sources1Wikipedia: San Ysidro McDonald's massacre↩
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Lyrics
English: "I'd like to know there's something preying on my mind / I'd like to know how someone can prey on their own kind / Gotta make him blind / Won't you be upstanding for Mr USA / I bet you I know something the 22 would say / If they were here today / They've got their man, Vietnam / Down in Vietnam / Won't you come again, Vietnam / They've got their man, come again / They disengage in contact / My friends lie all around / If they had stuck together, it doesn't work we've found / The body bags go down / I'm dreaming about a nightmare in a place I never was / They brag about the outcome, I want to know the cause / I want to see the applause / Vietnam, they've got their man / Won't you come again to Vietnam / Vietnam they've got their man / And Uncle Sam SOLO Un-be-liev-able"
About the artist
External Menace is a Scottish punk band formed in 1979 in Coatbridge, Scotland; its song 'Vietnam', recorded in its early-1980s period, appears on the retrospective 'Pure Punk Rock' (Captain Oi!, 1995). [Source: Discogs artist profile]