Post by J. ClarkePublished originally in 1962, that would almost certainly be what the troops
were issued.
Whatever else they studied, the VC would have received
a political education. Strangely, in contrast, some Americans
seemed to go out of their way to announce their lack of same
in lyrical form. Here are 4 examples:
In the year '64 we were fighting a war
For a reason that we hardly knew
Many tears had been shed many loved ones lay dead
In the fight 'tween the Grey and the Blue
-- Dry Branch Fire Squad
We had an apartment in the city,
Me and Loretta liked living there.
It'd been years since the kids had grown,
A life of their own and left us alone.
John and Linda live in Omaha,
And Joe is somewhere on the road.
We lost Davy in the Korean war,
Still don't know what for,
Don't matter anymore.
-- John Prine
Don't know much about history
Don't know much biology
Don't know much about a science book
Don't know much about the French I took
But I do know that I love you
And I know that if you love me too
What a wonderful world this would be
-- Sam Cooke
Now, come on all of you, big strong men,
Uncle Sam needs your help again.
He's got himself in a terrible jam
Way down yonder in Viet Nam
So put down your books and pick up a gun,
We're gonna have a whole lotta fun.
And it's one, two, three,
What are we fighting for?
Don't ask me, I don't give a damn,
Next stop is Vietnam;
And it's five, six, seven,
Open up the pearly gates,
Well there ain't no time to wonder why,
Whoopee! we're all gonna die.
-- Country Joe McDonald
SQ