Voice of a P.O.W.

Annotation — P.O.W. / M.I.A. Songs

The song "Voice of a P.O.W." (TIM # 107) by Wally Willette - he founded the label in 1964 (also known as Tops in Music), based in Pensacola, Florida. Distributed by Sounds of Nashville.1 The single is undated, but probably released during the war years. Fitting into the country music genre, Willette narrated the song from the perspective of a US P.O.W., who told the listener of the terrible conditions he suffered in prison and the mental and physical impact it had: "just a shell of a man, half alive, half dead...my mind is bent, my legs are getting weak". He said that the North Vietnamese "march me through the streets, they call me dirty names". So he pleaded with the people in the US not to forget about him and the other P.O.W.s. Written by Doug Zepp. Arranged by Know Phillips. Sources1Billboard, 26 December 1964↩

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Annotation — US Combat Perspective Songs

The song "Voice of a P.O.W." (TIM # 107) by Wally Willette - he founded the label in 1964 (also known as Tops in Music), based in Pensacola, Florida. Distributed by Sounds of Nashville.1 The single is undated, but probably released during the war years. Fitting into the country music genre, Willette narrated the song from the perspective of a US P.O.W., who told the listener of the terrible conditions he suffered in prison and the mental and physical impact it had: "just a shell of a man, half alive, half dead...my mind is bent, my legs are getting weak". He said that the North Vietnamese "march me through the streets, they call me dirty names". So he pleaded with the people in the US not to forget about him and the other P.O.W.s. Written by Doug Zepp. Arranged by Know Phillips.Sources1Billboard, 26 December 1964↩

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Lyrics

English: I'm a prisoner of war with just a roof above my head / Just a shell of a man, half alive, half dead / A man from the land of the brave and the home of the free / America don't forget about me / My mind is bent, my legs are getting weak and the enemy march me through the streets / They call me dirty names and spit in my face /Oh god I wish I was in some other place / I pray each night before I try to sleep, lord, don't let me die / Just give me one more week / Through the bars the sun greets me... / I've been here so long it's hard to tell / Every day seems like another day in hell / Its been so long since I shaved or washed my face... / My eyes are heavy from nights that I can't sleep / My stomach hurts from the food they give me... / I've lost a lot of weight and there are lines on my face

Notes

TIM ("Tops in Music") 107-A (SON 97522), 45 RPM; "Voice of a P.O.W." (Doug Zepp), 2:10, Knox Music, Inc., BMI; produced and arranged by Knox Phillips. [From the record sleeve and labels]

About the artist

Wallace Delorie Willette (born 2 July 1929 in Bangor, Maine; died 6 January 2008 in Pensacola, Florida) relocated to Pensacola in 1950 and led a rockabilly/country group from c.1955 (as "Wally Willette & His Globe Rockers" and "...And His Blue Ramblers", with the Polk Brothers), recording for Flag (Mobile, 1959), TIM (Nashville, 1960-68) and K-Ark; "Voice Of A P.O.W." appeared on TIM in 1968. [Source: Discogs artist profile; rocky-52.net]

Themes

P.O.W. · Soldier's Perspective · Patriotic · Spitting Image

In collections

P.O.W. / M.I.A. Songs · US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years] · US Combat Perspective Songs [War Years]