Credited on the record as Festival featuring Britt Small on vocal.
The Wall
1982 · Max Stout 42164 · Skidmore, Missouri
- Artist
- Festival feat. Britt Small
- Credited on the record as
- Festival featuring Britt Small on vocal
- Title
- The Wall
- Release
- The Wall / Still in Saigon
- Year
- 1982
- Label
- Max Stout # 42164
- Format
- 7" · Single
- Language
- English
- Country
- Skidmore, Missouri, USA
- Songwriter
- Zoerb, Roth, Small
- Genre
- Rock · Pop Rock
- Primary theme
- Post-War
Annotation
This is a double-sided Vietnam War pop rock single released in the post-war period, performed by Vietnam veterans. Both songs dealt with the legacy, memory, and impact of the Vietnam War. The a-side song "The Wall" (Max Stout Records # 42164) referred to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C. The lead vocalist, Britt Small, served as a paratrooper with the 173rd Airborne Brigade in South Vietnam in 1970 according to the back of the picture sleeve. He was awarded a Purple Heart and the Army Commendation Medal. The sleeve also said that: "Festival appeared at the National Salute to the Vietnam Veterans in Washington, D.C., in November 1982, where they sang at the Vietnam Memorial and performed a concert at the base of the Washington Monument". The narrator started by describing a "crying mother" visiting the Wall because her son "was ten years gone", killed in a "place called Vietnam". She then wanted to walk along the Wall paying her respects to all those that died. The narrator concluded by saying that the monument displayed that the nation "really care about the ones who fought and died". The b-side was a cover of The Charlie Daniels Band song "Still in Saigon" which looked at the impact of the war on veterans, such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Released in Skidmore, Missouri, USA.
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Lyrics
English: In this place of honor, to what is best of man / I found a crying mother with flowers in her hand / She said that she was there because her son was ten years gone / Another life that was not spared, a place called Vietnam / She turned to me and said young man, please take me in your arms and walk with me on past the Wall / I want to see them all, a special place this is to me / But its taken them so long, to say his life was not in vein / A place called Vietnam / The monument here shows me that the nation has some pride / To say they really care about the ones who fought and died / So you can stand here with me and hold me while I cry / The price we pay for freedom son hurts me deep inside / The price we pay for freedom son is the highest price of all / The price we pay for freedom son, is written on the Wall
Notes
Max Stout (42164), white labels; A: "The Wall" (Zoerb, Roth, Small), Max Stout Music, BMI, 3:25; B: "Still in Saigon" (Daley), Dreena Music and Dan Daley Music, BMI, 3:40; Festival featuring Britt Small on vocal. The picture sleeve front is a drawing of an American flag and a rose before a wall repeating "The Wall", captioned "A Salute to the Vietnam Veterans — by Festival". The back gives the writers in full (Lyle Zoerb, Ray Roth, Britt Small; Dan Daley), the full lyric of "The Wall", and notes that Britt Small served as a paratrooper with the 173rd Airborne Brigade in South Vietnam in 1970, where he was awarded the Purple Heart and the Army Commendation Medal, and that Festival appeared at the National Salute to the Vietnam Veterans in Washington, D.C., in November 1982, singing at the Vietnam Memorial and giving a concert at the base of the Washington Monument. Band line-up: Britt…
About the artist
Founded 1 June 1973 (USA)