Johnny Cash

[frisco-kid]

One of the few country singers that I can listen to for an extended time. Earlier, I was listening to one of the discs from my 3 disc boxed set and this song came up. How many remember this? Johnny wrote several great patriotic songs but, of course, this one was always close to my heart.

"SINGIN' IN VIETNAM TALKIN' BLUES"
Written by Johnny Cash, '71.

One mornin' at breakfast I said to my wife,
We've been everywhere once and some places twice.
As I had another helpin' of country ham,
She said, We ain't never been to Vietnam.
There's a bunch of our boys over there, so we went to the Orient Saigon.

Well, we got a big welcome when we drove in,
To the gates of a place they called Long Binh.
We checked in and everything got kinda quiet,
But a soldier boy said just wait 'til tonight.
Things get noisy, things start happenin'. Big, bad firecrackers.

Well, that night we did about four shows for the boys,
And they were livin' it up with a whole lotta noise.
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. They were scary.

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.
She sat up in bed and I heard her say,
What was that? I said a shell or a bomb.
She said, I'm scared. I said, Me 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 everytime one fell.
And it never let up. It was going to get worse before it got better.

Well, when the sun came up the noise died down.
We got a few minutes sleep, and we were sleepin' sound.
Then a soldier knocked on our door and said,
Last night they brought in seven dead.
And fourteen wounded, and would we come
Down to the base hospital and see the boys. Yeah.

So we went to the hospital ward by day,
And every night with the 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 them know we care
For every last one of them that's over there.
Whether we belong over there or not, somebody over here loves 'em and needs 'em.

Well, that's about all that there is to tell
About that little trip into livin' Hell.
And if I ever go back over there anymore,
Hope there's none of our boys there for me to sing for.
I hope that war's over with,
And they all come back home to live in Peace.


YOU'LL BE MISSED FOR MANY YEARS TO COME, JOHNNY.

[MORTARDUDE]

Johnny Cash is a classic. I had forgotten how much so until his death and I purchased "Johnny Cash : American IV : The Man Comes Around". I have listened to it many times. Rest In Peace.



It don't mean nothing. drive on. drive on.

Larry

[Packo]

Never heard that song and LOVE the man in black. I will have to get an album with that on it. (oops, I mean CD). Will also have my nephew look it up on some website. He can download it to CD for me. Next time I see you, I'll explain what Country Ham is to you. Your an honorary Southerner....you gots to know. My favorite JC song is still "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down".

Packo

[pighmpr]

Tommy,

That was Kris Christoferson.

[Packo]

It was WRITTEN by Kris, and performed by both, you ingnorant twit!

Your best buddy who's willing to bet a half gallon of Beefeaters on this,

Packo

[MORTARDUDE]

JC did it first.

Larry

[PHO127]

All time country songs, Sunday morning comming down was way up near the top. I don't remember where but I think it was in the top 5. One of my favorites is Ghost Riders in the Sky.

[pighmpr]

Paco,

I humbly stand corrected! I talked to someone who REALLY knows music and he confirmed you were correct. Anyway, I can't afford a half gallon of anything right now. We bought a clutch, an a.c. compressor, timing belt and water pump for the cars this Xmas.

Our mechanic is going to Bermuda for the holidays.

Happy Holidays to all of you!

[grasshopper]

hey Piggy! Merry Christmas to you too!

[SEATJERKER]

...always knew you were an outlaw,...

...any word,...

...