# Were there any Pro-Vietnam War songs? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 11, 2010, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-any-pro-vietnam-war-songs/535755 "2010-04-11T19:33:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![WreckingCrew](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wreckingcrew/32/4080_2.png) [@WreckingCrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WreckingCrew)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2010, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-any-pro-vietnam-war-songs/535755/21 "2010-04-12T16:54:50Z")
There was also “Open Letter To My Teenage Son” by some guy named Victor Lundberg that somehow reached #10. He rambles on about hippies and what not over the “Battle Hymn of the Republic” and closes with And if you decide to burn your draft card then burn your birth certificate at the same time From that moment on, I have no son > **[Victor Lundberg](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victor_Lundberg)** > > Victor Lundberg (September 2, 1923 , Grand Rapids, Michigan – February 14, 1990) was an American radio personality, best known for a spoken-word record called "An Open Letter to My Teenage Son", which became an unlikely Top 10 hit in 1967. > While a newscaster at Grand Rapids radio station WMAX, Lundberg released "An Open Letter" in September 1967. The lyrics, written by Robert R Thompson and produced by Jack Tracy, imagine the narrator talking to his teenage son. (In real life, Lundberg had at ... ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2010, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-any-pro-vietnam-war-songs/535755/22 "2010-04-12T17:27:51Z")
There’s always Tom Paxton’s [Talking Vietnam Potluck Blues](http://sniff.numachi.com/pages/tiPOTLUCK.html) ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2010, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-any-pro-vietnam-war-songs/535755/23 "2010-04-12T17:35:19Z")
> [@breezman](#): > > The song [Okie from Muskogee](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Okie_from_Muskogee_(song)) wasn’t exactly pro-Vietnam, but with the line “We don’t burn our draft cards down on Main Street” it was at least against the war protesters. Yeah, but the song is a bit tongue in cheek. Somebody once took Merle to task for rolling a non-tobacco smoke backstage; after all, “We don’t smoke marijuana in Muskogee.” He pointed out that he was not, at that moment, \*in \*Muskogee. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2010, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-any-pro-vietnam-war-songs/535755/24 "2010-04-12T17:48:48Z")
But Okie from Muskogee inspired Chinga Chavin’s classic [Asshole from El Paso](http://www.lyricsfreak.com/k/kinky+friedman/asshole+from+el+paso_20079467.html) ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2010, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-any-pro-vietnam-war-songs/535755/25 "2010-04-12T19:12:27Z")
> [@UncleRojelio](#): > > In one of life’s weird little coincidences, just last night my wife was going through her mother’s things and guess what she found? > > No really – guess. > > [SSGT Sadler’s entire album](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barry_Sadler), you know, the big round vinyl kind. It’s got 12, count’em 12 pro-vietnam tracks on it. If I ever find a way to interface with this ancient technology I’m so going to rip this to my iPod. > [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > You could just [buy the CD](http://www.amazon.com/Ballads-Green-Berets-SSgt-Sadler/dp/B0000064FA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1271049324&sr=1-1) at amazon. Or you could just [download](http://www.amazon.com/Ballads-Green-Berets/dp/B00138H1VO/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=dmusic&qid=1271099088&sr=8-3) it. Amazon MP3’s are totally DRM free and are 256 kbps in quality. They can be downloaded directly into iTunes. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-any-pro-vietnam-war-songs/535755/26 "2010-04-13T02:22:25Z")
Maybe **UncleRojelio** doesn’t want to put any money in SSgt Sadler’s pocket. It’s okay, though, he’s been dead for 20 years. ---
**Author:** ![In\_Winnipeg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a8b319/32.png) [@In\_Winnipeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/In_Winnipeg)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-any-pro-vietnam-war-songs/535755/27 "2010-04-13T02:49:23Z")
Scary stuff… > **[SearchForVideo.com is available at DomainMarket.com](https://www.domainmarket.com/buynow/searchforvideo.com)** > > Domain for Sale. SearchForVideo.com. Request Price. What Are the > Advantages of a Super Premium .Com Domain? Increased Traffic. Search Engine Ranking. Brand Recognition. > Immediate Presence. Higher Profits. Great Investment. #1 in Premium Domains.... ---
**Author:** ![Alpha\_Twit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alpha_twit/32/265_2.png) [@Alpha\_Twit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alpha_Twit)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-any-pro-vietnam-war-songs/535755/28 "2010-04-13T04:32:45Z")
Much like _Okie from Muskogee_, Kenny Roger’s _Ruby_ is hardly pro-Vietnam but it does include the following line. _It wasn’t me that started that old crazy Asian war But I was proud to go and do my patriotic chore_ ---
**Author:** ![SecretaryofEvil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@SecretaryofEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SecretaryofEvil)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2010, 9:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-any-pro-vietnam-war-songs/535755/29 "2010-04-15T09:06:51Z")
Hijack: You know, with the marginal exception of _Good Morning Vietnam,_ I’ve never seen a Vietnam War movie with any Vietnamese, of either side, as actual, individual characters. We Americans knew hardly anything about them at the time and we still don’t, except for their food. [/QUOTE] Oliver Stone’s Heaven and Earth is from the perspective of a Vietnamese woman who ends up marrying an American soldier. [Heaven & Earth (1993 film) - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heaven_%26_Earth_(1993_film)) It’s not Stone’s best work but it does portray the Vietnam War from a Vietnamese perspective. ---
**Author:** ![SecretaryofEvil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@SecretaryofEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SecretaryofEvil)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2010, 9:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-any-pro-vietnam-war-songs/535755/30 "2010-04-15T09:17:01Z")
[quote=“cckerberos, post:17, topic:535755”] I think the same thing can be largely said about most of our enemies (especially non-Europeans). Focusing on the rationales and humanity of our opponents (even if just on the individual level) tends to muddy the waters too much for most war movies. Continuing briefly with the hijack here, Letters from Iwo Jima, an American film directed by Clint Eastwood, tells the story of the Battle of Iwo Jima entirely from the Japanese perspective. [Letters from Iwo Jima - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letters_from_Iwo_Jima) Enemy at the Gates is an excellent film about a sniper duel between Nazis and Soviets during the Battle of Stalingrad. The Soviet sniper, played by Jude Law and based on a real guy, is the protagonist, whereas the Nazi sniper, a completely fictional character played by Ed Harris is the bad guy. The Nazi sniper, while bad, is still a pretty well developed character. While these are Europeans, I do feel that the Eastern Front is almost completely ignored in film, except as a punishment to threaten colonel Klink with. > **[Enemy at the Gates](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enemy_at_the_Gates)** > > Enemy at the Gates (Stalingrad in France and L'Ennemi aux portes in Canada) is a 2001 war film directed, co-written, and produced by Jean-Jacques Annaud, based on William Craig's 1973 nonfiction book Enemy at the Gates: The Battle for Stalingrad, which describes the events surrounding the Battle of Stalingrad in the winter of 1942–1943. The screenplay was written by Annaud and Alain Godard. The film's main character is a fictionalized version of Vasily Zaitsev, a sniper and Hero of the Sovi The... ---
**Author:** ![Lust4Life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecc23a/32.png) [@Lust4Life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lust4Life)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2010, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-any-pro-vietnam-war-songs/535755/31 "2010-04-15T11:48:15Z")
I seem to recall a truly dreadful record called “Camouflage” about a marine who gets killed and comes back from the dead to save his mates lives…shudder. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2010, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-any-pro-vietnam-war-songs/535755/32 "2010-04-15T13:58:38Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Hijack: You know, with the marginal exception of _Good Morning Vietnam,_ I’ve never seen a Vietnam War movie with any Vietnamese, of either side, as actual, individual characters. George Takei’s character in _The Green Beret_ is more interesting than John Wayne’s. I admit, the characterization is shallow, but it’s there. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2010, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-any-pro-vietnam-war-songs/535755/33 "2010-04-15T14:16:49Z")
> [@SecretaryofEvil](#): > > Enemy at the Gates is an excellent film about a sniper duel between Nazis and Soviets during the Battle of Stalingrad. The Soviet sniper, played by Jude Law and based on a real guy, is the protagonist, whereas the Nazi sniper, a completely fictional character played by Ed Harris is the bad guy. The Nazi sniper, while bad, is still a pretty well developed character. While these are Europeans, I do feel that the Eastern Front is almost completely ignored in film, except as a punishment to threaten colonel Klink with. > > [Enemy at the Gates - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enemy_at_the_Gates) I recommend the film Stalingrad. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2010, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-any-pro-vietnam-war-songs/535755/34 "2010-04-15T14:52:33Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > I suspected there were some pro-Vietnam country music songs and found that Johnny Wright had a number one country hit with “Hello Vietnam.” Another one is [“What We’re Fighting For”](http://www.metrolyrics.com/what-were-fighting-for-lyrics-dave-dudley.html) by David Dudley, which peaked at #4 on the country charts in 1966. ---
**Author:** ![Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellis_Aponte_Jr)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2010, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-any-pro-vietnam-war-songs/535755/35 "2010-04-16T14:29:41Z")
In the [Shangri-Las’ 1966 hit single “Long Live Our Love”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_gziqy9WfA) the singer takes a supportive view of her boyfriend going off to fight overseas. And the song doesn’t end in tragedy - at least not explicitly - unlike certain other Shangri-Las’ songs. Vietnam is never mentioned, but where else could he be going. ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2010, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-any-pro-vietnam-war-songs/535755/36 "2010-06-21T19:06:18Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > [You thought there wasn’t one?](http://www.notabene.gwsba.com/) No, I knew they existed. I literally meant “if I find one” as in find one on the side of the road. I’m not buying one just for this one album. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2010, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-any-pro-vietnam-war-songs/535755/37 "2010-06-21T19:11:57Z")
> [@SecretaryofEvil](#): > > Hijack: You know, with the marginal exception of _Good Morning Vietnam,_ I’ve never seen a Vietnam War movie with any Vietnamese, of either side, as actual, individual characters. We Americans knew hardly anything about them at the time and we still don’t, except for their food. There is the aforementioned _We Were Soldiers_ which has a couple of examples, one of which purposely makes its contrast to the usual faceless characterization in a rather pointed way. ---
**Author:** ![hellpaso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ecae2f/32.png) [@hellpaso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hellpaso)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2010, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-any-pro-vietnam-war-songs/535755/38 "2010-06-21T19:17:03Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > But Okie from Muskogee inspired Chinga Chavin’s classic [Asshole from El Paso](http://www.lyricsfreak.com/k/kinky+friedman/asshole+from+el+paso_20079467.html) 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_A.Robrin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sam_a.robrin/32/14497_2.png) [@Sam\_A.Robrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_A.Robrin)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2010, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-any-pro-vietnam-war-songs/535755/39 "2010-06-21T21:56:00Z")
There was this steaming helping of glurge: [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kf7mjf8scA) As in Haggard’s “Okie,” the pro-Vietnam sentiment was oblique in this one, but if you were living through those times, you could hear it: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/dRZcm7p8_YA/hqdefault.jpg "Where Have All Our Heroes Gone") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRZcm7p8_YA) Plenty of on-topic listening fun times here, too: > **[The Hyper-Patriotic Hit Single (MP3s)](https://blog.wfmu.org/freeform/2006/11/the_hyperpatrio.html)** > > (MP3s: 17 of them beyond the jump) I started collecting spoken word political records when I picked up the 45 rpm version of "The Altered Nixon Speech" at Sam Goodies in 1973. Since then, I've collected everything from Barry Goldwater... [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-any-pro-vietnam-war-songs/535755.md?page=1)