Comments on: Friday Five: Veterans Day

By: Jason Isbell’s Van and Gear Stolen; Doyle Bramhall Sr. Passes Away; Jennifer Nettles Considers Solo Record - Engine 145

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 16:34:07 +0000

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By: luckyoldsun

luckyoldsun — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 03:00:17 +0000

Maybe Toby and the DC’s can appear together on a double-bill and combine on a medley of both songs–You’ll be in heaven.

By: plain_jo

plain_jo — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 02:08:46 +0000

My two favs are American Soldier – Toby Keith & Travelin’Soldier – Dixie Chicks

By: BLL

BLL — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 23:38:56 +0000

Joe Henry is such a wordsmith; Belleau Wood is among his best. My Dad was a Ranger and loved the song.

By: luckyoldsun

luckyoldsun — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 17:46:44 +0000

A lot of Americans flip-flopped all over the place when it came to WWII–after Hitler attacked Russia.
Tha Almanac Singers–Seeger, Guthrie– went from calling FDR a warmonger to backing the U.S. war effort whole-heartedly.

By: Jon

Jon — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 15:49:29 +0000

“A Purple Heart,” originally written about the Korean War and recorded by Jim & Jesse, then repurposed for Viet Nam by Red Allen & The Kentuckians in the mid-60s.

Rick’s comment about “Smoke On The Water” is kind of ironic, as it was his fellow “conservatives” of the day who were the strongest isolationists and pro-Nazis, seeing Hitler as a bulwark against the Red Menace. Plus ca change…

By: Paul W DENNIS

Paul W DENNIS — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 09:35:36 +0000

I’ve always liked “Private Lee” by the Willis Brothers, but the David Ball hit from a decade ago “Riding With Private Malone” also is excellent

By: bob

bob — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 19:29:16 +0000

Favorites of the songs mentioned are “Galveston”, “Belleau Wood” (which Garth wrote with Joe Henry) and “Letters from Home”.

One of the favorite songs of the troops in Vietnam of itself had nothing to do with war. It was “We Gotta Get Out of This Place” by the Animals.

By: nm

nm — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 18:26:56 +0000

My grandmother used to sing “I Didn’t Raise My Boy to Be a Soldier,” a pop song from her First World War girlhood. (Lyrics at http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/4942/ .) Her son and brothers were all soldiers in the Second World War, and she hated that. It’s not my favorite war-related song (100-year-old pop isn’t really my thing), but I think that the point of view of the families back home needs to be part of the story, so I’m going to nominate Loretta Lynn’s “Dear Uncle Sam.”

“Johnny Come Lately” always bothers the nerdy part of me because there is no biological way that the grandchild of a British war bride from the ’40s would have been old enough to fight in the US army in Vietnam.

By: Thomas

Thomas — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 17:27:05 +0000

…john michael montgomery’s “letters from home” sounds familiar to anyone who’s ever served as a soldier – just the way it is with these letters from home.