Singing in Viet Nam Talking Blues

"Singing in Viet Nam Talking Blues"
Single by Johnny Cash
from the album Man in Black
B-side"You've Got a New Light Shining"
Released1971 (1971)
GenreCountry, talking blues, protest song[1]
LabelColumbia 4-45393
Songwriter(s)Johnny Cash[2]
Producer(s)Johnny Cash[2]
Johnny Cash singles chronology
"Man in Black"
(1971) 		"Singing in Viet Nam Talking Blues"
(1971) 		"Papa Was a Good Man"
(1971)
Audio
"Singing in Viet Nam Talking Blues" on YouTube

"Singing in Viet Nam Talking Blues" (or "Singin' in Viet Nam Talkin' Blues") is a song written and originally recorded by Johnny Cash.

Released in May 1971[3][4] as the second single (Columbia 4-45393, with "You've Got a New Light Shining" on the opposite side)[5] from Cash's that year's album Man in Black,[6] the song reached #18 on U.S. Billboard's country chart[7] and #124 on Billboard's Bubbling Under the Hot 100.[7]

Analysis

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While [the first single] "Man in Black" wore its political overtones on its dark sleeve, the next single from the album [Man in Black] was perhaps Cash's most political to date. "Singin' in Viet Nam Talkin' Blues" is about a trip Cash and his crew took to Vietnam to entertain the troops, detailing the "livin' hell" he witnessed, and ending with a hope that, if ever he is to return, it will be after the war is over, by which time all of "our boys" will be home and safe.

— C. Eric Banister. Johnny Cash FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the Man in Black[6]

As implied by its title, the Cash composition is a talking blues, with a longish ostinato accompaniment by guitars, bass drum, and acoustic bass in a country style (country-style finger picking in the guitars and archetypical root-fifth oscillations in the bass) backing up the narrative text. Cash's text tells the tale of a trip to South Vietnam to perform for U.S. troops. The tour found the Cashes in close proximity to shelling and seeing the wounded troops being brought back to base. Cash conveys the sense of terror he and his wife felt being so near to the heated nighttime battles. Eventually, Cash explains that the troops need to know that there are people back home who need them and love them. He acknowledges the differences of opinion about whether the United States should be involved in Southeast Asia, but states that as long as American servicemen are there, they should be told that those back home pray for their safe return. At the conclusion of the narrative, Cash expresses his hope that if he ever travels to Vietnam again, he will not find U.S. troops there, that they all would have returned; he expresses his hope for peace forcefully within a vocal crescendo.

What Cash manages to do in "Singin' in Viet Nam Talkin' Blues" is to leave the means to peace open to interpretation: we cannot be sure if he advocates early withdrawal or peace through victory. By promoting peace — something every side in the political debate wanted — but not specifying how he feels that peace should be achieved, Johnny Cash manages to deliver a deeply personal story of a singer traveling to a dangerous foreign land, a plea for support of U.S. troops fighting abroad, whether they should have been sent there or not, all with a message of peace that all sides could interpret as supporting their view.

— James E. Perone. Songs of the Vietnam Conflict[8]

Track listing

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7" single (Columbia 4-45393,[2] 1971)
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Singing In Viet Nam Talking Blues"Johnny Cash2:55
2."You've Got a New Light Shining"Johnny Cash2:02

Charts

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Chart (1971) Peak
position
US Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (Billboard)[9] 124[7]
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[10] 18

References

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  1. ^ "10 Protest Songs of Johnny Cash". Protest Music Hall of Fame. January 9, 2024. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c "Singing In Viet Nam Talking Blues / You've Got A New Light Shining". Discogs. 1971. Retrieved 2020-05-21.
  3. ^ Peter Lewry (2001). I've Been Everywhere: A Johnny Cash Chronicle. Helter Skelter. p. 90. ISBN 978-1-900924-22-1.
    May
    "Singing In Vietnam Talking Blues"/ "You've Got A New Light Shining" (Columbia 4-45393) is released and will hit #18 in July.
  4. ^ The Johnny Cash Record Catalog. Greenwood Publishing Group. 1994. pp. 8–9. ISBN 978-0-313-29506-5.
  5. ^ Standard Catalog of American Records, 1950-1975. Krause Publications. 2000. ISBN 978-0-87341-934-5.
    Tim Neely (1 August 2002). Goldmine Standard Catalog of American Records: 1950-1975. Krause Publications. ISBN 978-0-87349-471-7.
    Tim Neely (31 August 2006). Goldmine Standard Catalog of American Records: 1950-1975. Krause Publications. ISBN 9780896893078.
  6. ^ a b C. Eric Banister (1 August 2014). Johnny Cash FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the Man in Black. Backbeat Books. pp. 179–. ISBN 978-1-61713-608-5.
  7. ^ a b c Joel Whitburn (2002). Top Country Singles, 1944 to 2001: Chart Data Compiled from Billboard's Country Singles Charts, 1944-2001. Record Research. ISBN 978-0-89820-151-2.
    Joel Whitburn (2005). Joel Whitburn's Top Country Songs: 1944-2005, Billboard. Record Research. ISBN 978-0-89820-165-9.
    "Singing In Viet Nam Talking Blues Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 2020-05-23.
  8. ^ James E. Perone (2001). Songs of the Vietnam Conflict. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 66–. ISBN 978-0-313-31528-2.
  9. ^ "Johnny Cash Chart History (Bubbling Under Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 2020-05-20.
  10. ^ "Johnny Cash Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 2020-05-23.
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