Veterans Day is America’s chance to say thanks to the brave men and women of the military. It’s been a tough decade for the armed forces, with wars on two fronts, and last week’s shooting spree that left a dozen dead at Fort Hood in Texas. But with the ongoing threat of terrorism, and coffins continually returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, most Americans appreciate the sacrifices that are made so that we can sleep easy and enjoy freedom.
With great respect and admiration, here are a half dozen songs about some of those sacrifices…
Johnny Cash – ‘Drive On’ (Alternate Lyrics) – Here JC plays the part of a Vietnam Vet who reflects proudly on his time in the jungle and the friend he left behind there. The alternate version of this song, found on the Unearthed box set, paints a bloodier picture of battle, but a more accepting homefront – in the original version, his kids didn’t understand him, but here they do. Cash sounds scarred and haunted, but he walks tall with his head held high.
Listen: Drive On (Alternate Lyrics)
Creedence Clearwater Revival – ‘Run Through The Jungle’ – John Fogerty sings like a Southern Gothic Grim Reaper, offering some advice about how to keep that head attached to your shoulders…
Listen: Run Through The Jungle
Jimi Hendrix – ‘Machine Gun’ – Jimi served one year in the 101st Airborne Division of the Army, so he had first-hand experience regarding what it took to be in the military. His rap before the song about the “soldiers” fighting in the streets of America was a goof on hippie protesters who considered themselves soldiers of peace. Hendrix knew who the real soldiers were, and with ‘Machine Gun’ he drops you in a rice paddy, where it’s kill-or-be-killed…
Listen: Machine Gun
Alice In Chains – ‘Rooster’ – This song’s first-person perspective takes you inside the mind of a trained killing machine. Here the late Layne Staley managed to sound both indestructible and like a voice from beyond the grave. ‘Rooster’ has the chill of battle, a hint of madness, and plenty of adrenaline…
Listen: Rooster
Dire Straits – ‘Ride Across The River’ – Dire Straits is almost the last thing I imagine soldiers listening to as they head into battle in their armored attack vehicles. But with lyrics like “The cause it is noble and the cause it is just/We are ready to pay with our lives if we must/Gonna ride across the river deep and wide/Ride across the river to the other side” it sounds the right tone of grim determination…
Listen: Ride Across The River
Pete Seeger – ‘Waist Deep In The Big Muddy’ – On one hand, this song scolds Lyndon Johnson and his generals for needlessly putting so many men in harm’s way. On the other hand, it’s an amazing testament to the dedication of the foot soldier – if they’re told to march to hell and certain death, they don’t ask questions or hesitate…
Listen: Waist Deep In The Big Muddy
Tags: Johnny Cash, Alice In Chains, Jimi Hendrix, Pete Seeger, Dire Straits, John Fogerty, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Lyndon Johnson, Layne Staley, Veterans Day
12 November 2009 at 6:51 am |
I don’t think Jimi was goofing on anybody with that quote. Machine Gun was recorded with the Band of Gypsies, which was his brief foray in having an all black group during a time of increased black awareness and black nationalism in the US. Certainly after the killing of MLK and the waves of riots that followed, Jimi (and others in his community) began to seriously question if the people of Vietnam were the real “enemy”. The same power structure that was sending young black kids overseas was also killing them at home. In that light, all of the soldiers in his “rap” are fighting against the same thing.
17 November 2009 at 6:55 pm |
After doing some research on this, I’ve come to the conclusion that you’re right. Somewhere along the way I got the idea that Jimi was lobbing a little sarcasm at the hippies with that “oh yeah, and all the soldiers fighting in Vietnam…” but that doesn’t seem to be the case. As Harry Shapiro and Caesar Glebbeek wrote in their excellent Hendrix biography Electric Gypsy, “…mention of Vietnam as an afterthought was perhaps a further indication that his onomatopoeic [?] evocations of death and destruction were primarily directed at civil unrest in America.”
My bad – thanks for the correction!
12 November 2009 at 8:54 am |
awesome post dk! thanks!
23 November 2009 at 6:50 pm |
I’m glad Dez added that post. As a longtime Hendrix fan and listener of that amazing live album, I think he was quite serious about the soldiers. Too bad, DK, that you didn’t have time to talk more about that recording…the sounds he gets out of his guitar is simply amazing. The whole set is quality. I wish he had the chance to play with Buddy Miles a little bit more.