Hello Vietnam

      So far, we have discussed songs that implied patriotism and support for American government intervention in Vietnam.  There is, however, a song that explicitly supported American intervention in Vietnam released in 1965, and it was a popular hit in the Country genre.  The song "Hello Vietnam" reached Number One during its initial release and stayed there for three weeks.  It landed as Number 15 on the Country Chart for the year according to Billboard.  The song was written by Tom T. Hall and performed by Johnny Wright, with his famous wife Kitty Wells singing background.  Tom T. Hall was a veteran when he wrote the song, having enlisted in the Army in 1957 and serving in Germany where he performed at local NCO clubs on the Armed Forces Radio Network.  He was discharged after his four years of service, returning to the States in 1961, but his service obviously influenced his opinions about duty and honor.  Hall wrote:

Kiss, me goodbye and write me while I'm gone
Good, bye, my sweetheart, Hello Vietnam.
America has heard the bugle call;
And you know it involves us, one and all.
I don't suppose that war will ever end;
There's fighting that will break us up again.
Good bye, my darling, Hello Vietnam.
A hill to take, a battle to be won.
Kiss me goodbye and write me while I'm gone.
Good bye, my sweetheart, Hello Vietnam.
A ship is waiting for us at the dock.
America has trouble to be stopped.
We must stop Communism in that land
Or freedom will start slipping through our hands.
I hope and pray someday the world will learn
That fires we don't put out, will bigger burn.
We must save freedom now, at any cost
Or someday, our own freedom will be lost.
Kiss me goodbye and write me while I'm gone
 Good bye, my sweetheart, Hello Vietnam.

     Not only does the song address the domestic issues of leaving a loved one behind, but it is clearly supporting America's efforts to contain Communism, which was the initial rationalization given for the deployment of U.S. troops into Southeast Asia.  This song is clearly in support of the American government's foreign policy with respect to the Vietnam War.  Further, the song was popular among country listeners, proving support for the War was evident among Americans, especially in 1965 when the song was released.

     Interestingly, the song became popular again in 1987 when it was released as part of the soundtrack to Full Metal Jacket.  There was a resurgence of Vietnam-themed films and television series in the mid-1980s, allowing for re-purposing of many of the Vietnam-era songs, but more on that another time.  For our understanding regarding "Hello, Vietnam," it is important to see the connections of this pro-government foreign policy song to the county genre in general and the myth of the American West more specifically.  The song represents the values of the country/western mindset, and an understanding that the government had a duty to protect the precious democracy upon which America was built.

Bob Dylan and Nashville Skyline

       When talking about the soundtrack to the Vietnam War, the most obvious name that comes to mind is Bob Dylan.  He was instrumental in creating a soundtrack of social consciousness in the years leading up to America’s involvement in Southeast Asia. In fact, he was often thought of as a youth leader of the counterculture who was not afraid to write about the issues of the times.  Because of this, an entire generation of young people looked to Dylan for inspiration and guidance.  Although we may never know Dylan’s intentions, as his interviews prove only that he was guarded about revealing his innermost thoughts, it seems that Dylan did not want to be considered a leader of the counterculture.  As a matter of fact, Dylan was quoted, “I was sick of the way my lyrics had been extrapolated, their meanings subverted into polemics and that I had been anointed as the Big Bubba of Rebellion, High Priest of Protest, the Czar of Dissent...."  This may be why Dylan converted from his experiment with rock-n-roll to the more simple sounds of country music.  Even the title of Dylan’s album relates the importance of the Nashville connection with Nashville Skyline.  Rolling Stone reviewer Paul Nelson noted that Dylan’s new found happiness shone through on Nashville Skyline, proving that Dylan found his niche in country music, especially evident in the album’s cover art sporting a smiling Bob Dylan.  Perhaps Dylan was attracted to county music’s Jeffersonian ideals, simple living, and uncomplicated American values.  Perhaps Dylan was more comfortable here than being expected to lead a counterculture, especially in an effort to protest the Vietnam War, since Dylan himself alluded to the fact that he was not comfortable being the forerunner of a revolution. More importantly, however, Dylan’s move towards country started another trend, that of other popular folk-rockers to gravitate towards country music, such as The Byrds, less a recently-fired David Crosby, and Credence Clearwater Revival who sought out less political venues to display their talents.  It is interesting that they found this in country, where the “Frontier Myth” is connected to a sense of simple, American values which were more supportive of America’s foreign policy than these groups had previously been associated.

Johnny Horton and The Battle of New Orleans

In the late 1950s, folksy story-songs were becoming popular with country music listening audiences.  Johnny Horton’s success relied heavily on this with his rendition of Jimmie Driftwood’s “Battle of New Orleans,” the first of several strongly patriotic songs that Horton would release in 1959 and 1960.  With the accomplishment of “Battle of New Orleans,” (it was a Number One song on the Country Billboard Chart in 1959 and won a Grammy for Song of the Year that same year), Horton also recorded “Johnny Reb” and “Sink the Bismarck,” both Top Ten hits and both strongly patriotic folksy saga songs that promoted patriotism through success against great odds.   

Americans were not really thinking about involvement in Vietnam in the later 1950s, but were more engrossed in the Cold War, promoting Americanism and democracy over the Soviet Union and communism.  Horton’s songs about Americans defeating ruthless enemies even at the greatest of odds fit right into this idea of noble Americanism which would defeat the evils of communism.  Americans were primed to support all efforts at containing communism, including the eventual entrance into a war in Southeast Asia.  Not realizing Horton’s songs were, in actuality, propagandist offerings, the country and pop audiences sought out patriotic songs about the importance of America.  This is not to say that Horton purposefully created propaganda, but in the context of the Cold War, it is understandable that Horton would have found his success with these types of songs.  And it is also understandable that the eventual American involvement in Vietnam would be connected to the Cold War and America’s efforts to protect democracy from its evil enemy – communism.  Without realizing it, these songs were early pro-war and pro-government offerings that served to further America’s perceived protection of democracy at all costs, including the eventual entrance into a war in Vietnam.

          Johnny Horton’s performance on the Ed Sullivan Show took the patriotism to the hilt, with Horton costumed in a frontier-like buckskin suit while surrounded by dancers dressed as both British soldiers and American patriots acting out a “battle” through dance, with, of course, the Americans victorious.  The performance was greeted with thunderous applause, proving again the importance of American patriotism.  It has to be noted that Horton used the frontier theme to further the idea of Americanism, revealing again the roots of patriotism were found in the myth of the American West.