Ya Volvi de Vietnam

Annotation — Mexican-American / Hispanic Songs

The song "Ya volvi de Vietnam" (Corona Records # 2392) ("I Just Got Back From Vietnam") by Jimmy Jimenez - there are many versions of this song, see below. This one was released in San Antonio, Texas, USA, one of the big recording centres for Mexican-American music. The song, as suggested in the title, focused on a soldier returning to the US, from the soldier / veteran's perspective. The returning soldier recalled how he fought side-by-side with a friend from his neighbourhood, with combat descriptions: "bullets and grenades flew through the wind". Sadly, the soldier's friend was Killed in Action (K.I.A.), and thus he did not return home happy, but with "guilt that makes me suffer a lot". The song contained patriotic, anti-communist sentiments: "fighting against those red traitors". Also note the religious content, referencing god several times. Transcription by Eric Silberberg and Ignacia Morales Reyes. Translation by Eric Silberberg.1Sources1Ya volvi de Vietnam (Jimmy Jimenez)↩

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Lyrics

English: I've come back from Vietnam, my friends / By God's will I come to tell you / That I don't come back happy or content / I carry a sorrow that makes me suffer greatly / A very dear friend from my neighbourhood / As ill luck would have it, the two of us ended up / On the same battlefield over there in Vietnam / Rifle in hand they sent us in to fight / We got through fine, my friend and I, side by side / Fighting against those treacherous reds / Bullets and grenades flew through the wind / And walking and advancing all along the trail / That unhappy day came, and I can't forget / How they rained a hail of bullets on us / My friend fell, dying, and he said to me / 'My friend, I want to die in your arms / Tell my mother and my girlfriend not to cry / And my friends not to lose hope' / Carry in your souls this fine memory / Of a faithful friend who rests in peace with God __________ Spanish: Ya volví de Vietnam, amigos míos / Por la voluntad de Dios vengo a decir / Que no vengo dichoso ni contento / Traigo una pena que mucho me hace sufrir / Un amigo de mi barrio muy querido / No con la suerte que los dos fuimos a dar / Al mismo campo de batalla allá en Vietnam / Con rifle en mano nos metieron a pelear / Pasamos bien por yo y mi amigo a lado a lado / Peleando en contra de esos rojos traicioneros / Volaban balas y granadas por el viento / Y caminando y avanzando en ‘to sendero / legó ese día desdichado y no me olvido / Que nos echaron una lluvia de balazos / Cayó mi amigo…

Notes

Red Corona label, Rangel Music Co., San Antonio, Texas, record no. 2392-A (COR-5323), unbreakable, 45 R.P.M.; "Ya Volvi de Vietnam", corrido, 2:31, by Jimmy Jimenez y su Conjunto. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes

Combat · K.I.A. · Anti-Communism · Patriotic · Religion

In collections

Mexican-American / Hispanic Songs · US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]