Vietnam

Annotation

Despite J.B. Lenoir's laid back acoustic blues style, during his 1960s period he wrote and played many angry political songs about racism and war - a pioneer of the protest movement. Born in Monticello, Mississippi in 1929, he worked with Elmore James in New Orleans, before moving to Chicago in the late 1940s, playing with Muddy Waters and becoming a notable figure in the Chicago blues scene. He died a couple years after the recording of this album, in 1967, at the age of 38. Lenoir only released this album, Alabama Blues, in his lifetime. Recorded on 5 May 1965, in Chicago Illinois, it contained many references to the civil rights movement and other political events. It was not issued in the US at the time, but only in France, Germany, and Australia. The song "Vietnam" (CBS # 62593) dealt with the draft card arriving and then a man being sent out to Vietnam: "got my questionnaire...Uncle Sam...need you in Vietnam". He expressed reluctance to go to war, and at the end of the song, he made a general peace statement, hoping that all wars would come to an end. Lenoir also recorded a song called "Vietnam Blues" in 1966, released on the album Crusade (Polydor # 24-4011) in 1970. A live version from 1965, called "Everybody Crying About Vietnam" featured on the album Bye Bye, Bird...Solo Blues (Scout # SC-1) - probably released around 1968-69.

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Annotation — Blues songs

Despite J.B. Lenoir's laid back acoustic blues style, during his 1960s period he wrote and played many angry political songs about racism and war - a pioneer of the protest movement. Born in Monticello, Mississippi in 1929, he worked with Elmore James in New Orleans, before moving to Chicago in the late 1940s, playing with Muddy Waters and becoming a notable figure in the Chicago blues scene. He died a couple years after the recording of this album, in 1967, at the age of 38. Lenoir only released this album, Alabama Blues, in his lifetime. Recorded on 5 May 1965, in Chicago Illinois, it contained many references to the civil rights movement and other political events. It was not issued in the US at the time, but only in France, Germany, and Australia. The song "Vietnam" (CBS # 62593) dealt with the draft card arriving and then a man being sent out to Vietnam: "got my questionnaire...Uncle Sam...need you in Vietnam" - questionnaire is the term often used to refer to the draft in blues songs. He expressed reluctance to go to war, and at the end of the song, he made a general peace statement: "I wonder when will all wars come to an end?". The song is adapted from his 1951 "Korean Blues" (Chess Records # 1449). Also note he released the 1954 single "I'm in Korea / Eisenhower Blues", another example of his focus on contemporary events. Lenoir also recorded a song called "Vietnam Blues" in 1966, released on the album Crusade (Polydor # 24-4011) in 1970. A live version from 1965, called "Everybody Crying About Vietnam" featured on the album Bye Bye, Bird...Solo Blues (Scout # SC-1) - probably released around 1968-69.

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Lyrics

English: Lord I got my questionnaire / Uncle Sam gonna send me away from here / J.B. you can hide, but you cannot run / They need you in Vietnam / Sweetheart, please don't you worry / I've just begun to fly in the air / Now if the Vietnams shoot me down over there / Lord you find my body buried somewhere / I wonder when will all wars come to an end? / Now, if the Vietnams shoot me down in sin / My son Jerry will rise up and fight again Lord I got my questionnaire / Uncle Sam gonna send me away from here / J.B. you can hide, but you cannot run / They need you in Vietnam / Sweetheart, please don't you worry / I've just begun to fly in the air / Now the Vietnam shoot me down over there / Lord you find my body there somewhere / I wonder when will all wars come to an end?

About the artist

American blues singer and guitarist, born 5 March 1929 in Monticello, Mississippi; noted for topical protest blues ('Vietnam Blues', 'Alabama Blues'); died 29 April 1967 in Urbana, Illinois, of injuries from a car accident. [Source: Wikipedia]

Themes

Anti-War · Draft

In collections

Blues songs · Draft Songs · Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]