We Are Written on the Wall (Vietnam Memorial Hymn)
1986 · Harmony Street HSR 6891 · Santa Fe, New Mexico
- Artist
- Terry Allen
- Title
- We Are Written on the Wall (Vietnam Memorial Hymn)
- Release
- We Are Written on the Wall (Vietnam Memorial Hymn) / I Want to Thank You
- Year
- 1986
- Label
- Harmony Street # HSR 6891
- Format
- 7" · Single
- Language
- English
- Country
- Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
- Songwriter
- Terry Allen
- Genre
- Pop · Pop
- Primary theme
- Post-War
Annotation
Outlaw country singer/songwriter Terry Allen: born 7 May 1943, in Wichita, Kansas, USA, currently living in San Francisco, New Mexico, USA. He released the song "We Are Written on the Wall (Vietnam Memorial Hymn)" (Harmony Street Records # HSR 6891), which as you can see from the lyrics below, came in at a lengthy 4.28 minutes. The music was a cross between country pop and fanfare. It is written from the perspective of a soldier who was killed in action (K.I.A.) in Vietnam, and whose name is written on the memorial wall: "written on the Wall, though we died in the jungles of a far and distance land". The song also contained a description of battle conditions, and the narrated wondered what the cause of the war was: "a cause that was written in the sand". Released in Kansas City, Kansas, USA. Composed by Terry Allen. Produced by Frank Pappalrado and Terry Allen at "Tanglewood Studios". Music rights: "First Million Music Inc".
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Lyrics
English: We have made our beds to lie on, though we didn't choose the place / We have taken over reliance for the game we had to face / The king that had to move us, from the bishop to the pawn / We are here, we are written on the Wall / We have listened to our brothers as they stand beside us now / With a feeling for the ages, though we've hardly been around / I can hear my friends and neighbours / I can hear then loud and clear / We are here, we are, written on the Wall / Though we died in the jungles of a far and distance land / For a cause that was written in the sand / Let your ears be directly so never have to see / We are here, we are written on the Wall / We flown through deadly rainfall, we trodden on the soil / We have taken to the waves, and we have coiled with our hearts and with lives we have played a desperate hand / We are here, we are written on the Wall / We are people of the cities, we are people of the land / We men and women, and we fought at your command / And we have the time to answer all the questions that you ask, and we learn from us / We are written on the Wall... / Through the battle that we knew we could won / But our fate was not to linger in a life we'd just begin / So we take the time to tell you, will you listen one and all / We are here, we are written on the Wall / Though we died in the jungles in a far and distant land / For a cause that was written in the sand / Let your prayers be directed so you never have to sing / We are here, we are…
Notes
Harmony Street Records HSR 6891 A (U-16183 M), orange label with a drawing of a top-hatted dancer under a street lamp; "We Are Written on the Wall (Vietnam Memorial Hymn)" (Terry Allen), 4:28, First Million Music Inc., ASCAP, ℗ 1986 Harmony Street Records; produced by Frank Pappalardo and Terry Allen, Tanglewood Studios; Harmony Street Records, Box 4107, Kansas City, Kansas 66104. [From the record sleeve and labels]
About the artist
American singer-songwriter and artist, born 7 May 1943 in Wichita, Kansas, raised in Lubbock, Texas. [Source: Wikipedia]