The Song

The protest song Singin' In Vietnam Talkin' Blues was written in 1971. He performed it on his ABC variety show, on March 17, 1971. It's a song talking about Johnny Cash's visit to Vietnam two years before, and expresses how sad it is to be there. He talks about how all night he and his wife were kept awake by shells and bombs exploding, some only about two miles away. The background music, played by Cash on his guitar, is pretty simple and repetitive, belying the enormity of his song. He just plays the same chords over and over, inconspicuously giving a base for the lyrics to stay on. He talked about how he hoped that if he ever went back to Vietnam, he hoped that no more American soldiers would be over there. This style of song is called talkin' blues.

Lyrics

Well, one mornin' at breakfast, I said to my wife,
We been everywhere once and some places twice,
As I had another helping of country ham,
She said "We neever been to Vietnam,
"There's a quarter million of our boys over there."
So we went to the Orient: Saigon.

Well we got a big welcome when we drove in,
Through the gates of a place that they call Long Vinh.
We checked in and everything got kinda quiet,
But a soldier boy said: "Just wait 'til tonight,
"Things get noisy. Things start happenin'.
"Bad firecrackers."

Well that night we did about four shows for the boys,
And they were livin' it up with a whole lot of noise.
Then we did our last song for the night,
And we crawled into bed for some peace and quiet,
But things weren't peaceful. And things weren't quiet.
All night, boom boom.

Well for a few minutes June never said one word,
And I thought at first that she hadn't heard.
Then a shell exploded not two miles away,
And June sat up and I heard her say: "What was that?"
I said: "That was a shell, or a bomb."
She said: "I'm scared." I said "I am too."

Well all night long that noise kept on,
And the sound would chill you right to the bone.
The bullets and the bombs, and the mortar shells,
Shook our bed every time one fell,
And it never let up; it was gettin' worse,
Before it gets better.

Well when the sun came up, the noise died down,
We got a few minutes sleep, an' we were sleepin' sound,
When a soldier knocked on the door and said:
"Last night they brought in seven dead, and 14 wounded."
And would we come down to the base hospital, and sing for them.
"Yeah."

So we went to the hospital ward by day,
And every night we were singin' away.
Then the shells and the bombs 'til dawn again.
And the helicopters brought in the wounded men.
Night after night; day after day.
Comin' and a goin'.

So we sadly sang for them our last song,
And reluctantly we said: "So long."
We did our best to let 'em know that we care,
For every last one of 'em that's over there.
Whether we belong over there or not, they're our boys.
And they belong over here somewhere.

Well now that's about all that there is to tell,
About that little trip into livin' hell.
And if I ever go back over there any more,
I hope there's none of our boys there for me to sing for;
I hope that war is over with, 
And they all come back home,
To stay.

In peace.