The Caravans

Vietnam Blues

1998 · Fury F3042 · Southsea, UK: England

Artist
The Caravans
Title
Vietnam Blues
Release
Glamorous Heart Motel Blues
Year
1998
Label
Fury # F3042
Format
10" · Album
Language
English
Country
Southsea, UK: England
Genre
Rock · Rock
Primary theme
Post-War

Annotation

The Caravans, a Psychobilly group - a cross-pollination of Punk Rock and Rockabilly - formed in 1983 in Southsea, UK, led by Mark Pennington, released the song "Vietnam Blues" (Fury Records # F3042), a cover an obscure Atlanta, Georgia country artist Elvis Carden, who released the single Viet Nam Blues / Loving a Soldier in 1967. It told the story of a soldier who is in a "fight in Vietnam, 23 hours a day", fighting off the Viet Cong (or "VC") - the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam (Vietnamese: Mặt trận Dân tộc Giải phóng Miền Nam Việt Nam) (NLFSV or NLF), the political and military resistance to the US and South Vietnamese government from within South Vietnam. The soldier "got a woman stateside...down in Western Georgia". However, at the end of the song, the narrator reports that his sweetheart had left him: "my baby went and left me, cause she loves cocaine".

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

About the artist

American gospel group formed 1952 in Chicago, Illinois. [Source: Wikipedia]

Themes

VC

In collections

European Songs · Punk Songs