"Vietnam" Jimmy Cliff

Peace against war

Hey Vietnam, Vietnam, Vietnam, Vietnam

Vietnam, Vietnam, Vietnam

Yesterday I got a letter from my friend fighting in Vietnam

An this is what he had to say:

'Tell all my friends that I'll be coming home soon

My time'll be up some time in June

Don't forget', he said, 'to tell my sweet Mary

Her golden lips are sweet as cherry'

And it came from Vietnam, Vietnam, Vietnam, Vietnam

Vietnam, Vietnam, Vietnam

It was just the next day his mother got a telegram

It was addressed from Vietnam

Now mistress Brown, she lives in the USA

And this is what she rode and said:

'Don't be alarmed', she told me the telegram said

'But mistress Brown your son is dead'

And it came from Vietnam, Vietnam, Vietnam, Vietnam

Vietnam, Vietnam - hey - Vietnam

Somebody please stop that war now!

Vietnam, Vietnam, Vietnam, Vietnam - oh

Vietnam, Vietnam - oh - Vietnam, oh oh oh oh - somebody please stop it

Vietnam, Vietnam - oh - Vietnam, Vietnam, oh oh oh oh

Vietnam - hey - Vietnam - aha - Vietnam - oh oh yeah

I wanna say now somebody stop that war - Vietnam .... - oh yeah, aha ...

"Vietnam" song appeared in the first album of Jimmy Cliff in 1969.

It is a typical protest song, like Cliff said, "I felt I could make a change through music". Jimmy Cliff once said he entered the music business because "there was nothing else I really liked doing."



According to Bob Dylan, the most famous singer and song-writer, "Vietnam" is the "best protest song ever !". Indeed, this song stayed three weeks on charts at the 46^th place in great Britain.

When analysing the song itself, it first brings joy while listening to it because of its pace and melody, which are quite energetic and stirring. After listening to the lyrics, the song finally turns out melancolic because of the sadness of the story wich is told here.

Most of the persons who listened to the song agree very strongly with the message Jimmy wants to get across, because they realised how many deaths the Vietnam war caused and its effects on the society.

However, this song is not just an ordinary protest song, but differs from the others by the absence of description of the war itself. As a matter of fact, Jimmy didn't plan to describe the horror scenes during the war including blood and death, but chose to take a step back and analyse the effects of the loss of a close relative. The song is not made to blame the war directly but to inform us of its effects and consequences on the populations.

Therefore, the example taken by Jimmy turns out to be the true story of a friend he went to school with, whose mother and wife learn about the loss of their loved one at war.
Jimmy once told the Mojo Magazine about the return of his dear friend, who had been shaken by the war and didn't even recognize him, "as if he were dead" said Jimmy.
As the lyrics mention it in "Tell all my friends that I'll be coming home soon", this friend had to leave his family in order to go and fight at war in Vietnam. Jimmy wrote and imagined a letter he could have received from this friend, sharing his hopes of reunion with his wife Mary. Unfortunately, his mother named "mistress Brown" receives a telegram informing her about the loss of her son.
This example out of millions is taken by Jimmy Cliff because it can be generalized to every family during the Vietnam War and even during each war, and illustrates well the universality of its consequences.
This whole song could be summed up in a short sentence : Each time the soldiers think and hope that they will be able to be reunited with their loved ones after war, but it rarely turns out that way, showing the destructive impact of War. The song displays why war affects society : so many people were losing their loved ones that it was affecting all of society. The message Jimmy Cliff wanted to get across with his song "Vietnam" was that the Vietnam war had to stop because the families were losing all their men, but Jimmy Cliff also wrote this song as a support to the soldiers fighting at war. This song can be considered as a hymn against war because it makes people believe in hope.

SCHUBERT Claralynn

PARENT Seynour