The Vietnam Requiem

Annotation

Heavy Metal band, formed in 1986, Haarlem, Netherlands, and disbanded in 1992, shortly after this, their only album. The final song "The Vietnam Requiem" was split into eight parts, which included documentary clips, included quoting Lyndon B. Johnson, US president (1962-1968). It referenced many well-known themes and episodes, including combat conditions, search and destroy, the Tet Offensive, the My Lai massacre, missing in action (M.I.A.), killed in action (K.I.A.), medals (the Purple Heart and Silver Star), and the treatment and impact on the veteran. Sections 1-6 focused on the combat zone: "Hueys sliding up to combat zone... lock and load and on patrol". Sections 7-8 focused on the post-war negative impact of the war, on those that fought: "it’s all over now...our youth was blown away". It also contained descriptions of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) - frequently referenced in post-war 1980s songs about US veterans, often connected in songs to stress, shell shock, flashbacks, nostalgia, and feelings and dreams related to an event: "it left scars in their minds... back home, still in the jungle" The veteran also recalled various place names, familiar sayings, and infamous events: "Khe Sanh, My lai, didi mow" - Khe Sanh was a reference to an area of Vietnam that played a critical role in the war, including The Battle of Khe Sanh, and the US Khe Sanh Combat Base - the city and province are frequently referenced in song, most famously by Australian band Cold Chisel, with the song "Khe Sanh" (1978). My Lai was a reference to the massacre - the mass murder of between 300-500 civilians in the South Vietnamese area known as "Pinkville", containing the hamlets, known as My Lai 4 and My Khe 4, and throughout the area of Song My, by US forces on 16 March 1968. "Didi mow" - this was a phrase adopted by US military personnel during the Vietnam War, from the Vietnamese "đi đi mau" ("get lost") - popularised in the movie The Deer Hunter (1978).1 The song concluded with another reference to a Vietnam War film - Good Morning, Vietnam (1987) - once again showing the huge impact of films on culture.Sources1iath.virginia.edu: Sixties Term Gloss D J↩

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Lyrics

English: I. The arrival: Da Nang 1965…. 365 and a wake up / II. Ignorance and heavy combat / Fear expressions, 19 here in Nam / I don’t know where I belong and don’t even know where I am / New guy, madcap, steppin’ on a booby-trap / Yelled it out, we shut him down, he couldn’t take the pain / Left out in the jungle, to serve the U.S.A. / We sang 'God bless America' and shot our hope away / III. Second tour: / Saigon ‘66, ready for take off / Hueys sliding up to combat zone / Basically grunts digging foxholes / Lock and load and on patrol / Into the bush we gotta lose some of the best of our platoon / P.F.C.’s face shot off during the monsoon rain / The dead will be anonymous to us in memory / We’ll settin’ up an ambush and waitin all to see / Bang, Victor Charlie / It seems we’re gone lose our minds / Slowly running out of ammo, right behind the enemy line / We fought to survive… and prayed to stay alive IV. Tunnel warfare: / Fire in the hole / I’m down in the dark with a tunnel rats mark / A flashlight and a gun aside / Slide through the mud and gather my guts / Thinkin’ it’s gonna be alright / But the feeling is gone, I am afraid and alone / And think about home / Cu chi ‘67, the other side of heaven / The start of 'Cedar falls' / To drive the Viet Cong to the walls / Down it’s hot and sweaty, dangerous and tricky / Vermin on the floor… and bamboo behind the door / Crawling like a madman, soon maybe a dead man and I’m afraid / That’s what I’m gonna be / My bloods running…

About the artist

Heavy Metal band, formed in 1986 in Haarlem, Netherlands, disbanded 1992 shortly after their only album.

Themes

Combat · Search & Destroy · Tet Offensive · My Lai · M.I.A. · K.I.A. · Purple Heart · Silver Star · Medals · Vet · Mistreatment of Vet · PTSD · Khe Sanh · LBJ · Helicopter · Foxhole · Jungle · Da Nang · Saigon

In collections

European Songs · Metal Songs · My Lai & Lt. William Calley Songs · P.O.W. / M.I.A. Songs · PTSD Songs