Viet-Nam

Annotation

The pace of French protest against the US war in Vietnam really picked up in 1968, with huge demonstrations in Paris. The song "Viet-Nam" (Disc'AZ # EP-1171) by French poet and writer Henri Gougaud took an anti-war perspective. The lyrics sought to capture the smells and sounds of Vietnam in a state of war "jasmine, rice and fish...the birds...viewing the plane, it threatens". He also sought to justify the point of writing and performing the song: "I think a song is not always futile...these word...are perhaps useful".

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Lyrics

English: In Vietnam there were / Scents of jasmine / Of rice and of fish / That we grilled together / Look at my hands / They are trembling / In Vietnam there were / Rocky torrents / It was green and restless / Beneath the limpid girls / Look at my eyes / They are empty / In Vietnam there was / Wind in the reeds / On the wind, birds / Above the birds, space / Look at the plane / It threatens / Today blood flows / Into the streams of the rivers / When we are not hungry / We are afraid / Today, what's the use / Of talking about it, little brother / The whole world knows / That we are dying / In Vietnam today / Morning after morning / We survive in holes / The sky is something we only talk about / Look at my fist / How it rises / Under umbrella hats / We go with heads bowed / To sow with wheat / The craters of the bombs / Look at the plane / How it falls / In Vietnam today / God knows it is pitch dark / And that naked men / Stubbornly insist on living free / Look at hope / How it quivers / I believe a song / Is not always futile / Distant brothers, my heartbreak / I would like these words / Perhaps to be of use to you / They come from the bottom of my heart __________ French: Au Viêt Nam il y avait / Des odeurs de jasmin / De riz e de poisson / Que l’on grillait ensemble / Regarde mes mains / Elles tremblent / Au Viêt Nam il y avait / Des torrents rocailleux / C’etait vert et nerveux / Sous les filles limpides / Regarde mes yeux / Ils sont vides / Au Viêt Nam il ya avait / Du…

Notes

Disc AZ EP 1171 (Production Essex; 32 rue François-1er, Paris), four-track EP: "Viet-Nam" 2:45 and "Ma femme" 2:40 on face A, "La légende des loups" and "Les roses de mai" (Gougaud – José Cana) on face B; words and music by Henri Gougaud, accompanied by François Rauber; cover photo Gérard Bousquet. [From the record sleeve and labels]

About the artist

Born 1936, Villemoustaussou, Languedoc-Roussillon, France

Themes

Anti-War

In collections

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