PDA

View Full Version : Music...



LivinSoFree
01-10-05, 09:02 AM
OK, maybe this has been done before BUT...

One of the intersting sidebars to come out of our recent involvements in Iraq and Afgahnistan have been a couple of "human interest" stories regarding the effects that music has had on Marines on the battlefield. VH1's "Soundtrack to War" was an interesting special, and even that lunatic Michael Moore had a segment in "Farenheit" about it. I've seen things like tank crews plugging CD-players into their internal comms systems, infantry Marines using discmans to get psyched up before a firefight, and Marines writing and/playing music to deal with the stresses and realities of war. I know that I personally have been keeping a bit of an informal mental list of songs that I would put onto a CD to take with me when I end up going over there.

My question is this: this can't be a new thing, so what kind of an effect did music have on you during combat deployments? What'd y'all listen to, etc?

I know the scene that sticks in my head is footage from a Cronkite special on Vietnam that shows Marines at Khe Sanh singing "Where Have all the Flowers Gone" in the middle of their torn up outpost... not sure where to start with that one.

Namvet67
01-10-05, 09:11 AM
Lots of Credence Clearwater and the Animals. We used to play loud music to scare the VC and NVA. The song Have you seen the rain (Credence) I still play today. Do you know what he was refering to when he sang about the "rain"?

jinelson
01-10-05, 09:40 AM
Yeah Meyer I know that it goes back at least as far as Nam we all had reel to reels back in the rear and for me Jimi Hendrix was the motivator and Fire and Rain was the soother. I even heard army huey cobras blasting out sounds through giant outside speakers at the air base in Danang. I also read in Stars and Stripes that the special ops guys used it for psyops.

LivinSoFree
01-10-05, 09:44 AM
Good stuff... I know that CCR is on my list to take with me... something about "Fortunate Son" that seems rather appropriate...

thedrifter
01-10-05, 09:47 AM
I listen to all what we called back then the Protest Songs....

Another good one was....



The Animals

WE GOTTA GET OUT OF THIS PLACE
(Weil/Mann)

In this dirty old part of the city
Where the sun refused to shine
People tell me there ain't no use in tryin'

Now my girl you're so young and pretty
And one thing I know is true
You'll be dead before your time is due, I know

Watch my daddy in bed a-dyin'
Watched his hair been turnin' grey
He's been workin' and slavin' his life away
Oh yes I know it

(Yeah!) He's been workin' so hard
(Yeah!) I've been workin' too, baby
(Yeah!) Every night and day
(Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!)

We gotta get out of this place
If it's the last thing we ever do
We gotta get out of this place
'cause girl, there's a better life for me and you

Now my girl you're so young and pretty
And one thing I know is true, yeah
You'll be dead before your time is due, I know it

Watch my daddy in bed a-dyin'
Watched his hair been turnin' grey, yeah
He's been workin' and slavin' his life away
I know he's been workin' so hard

(Yeah!) I've been workin' too, baby
(Yeah!) Every day baby
(Yeah!) Whoa!
(Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!)

We gotta get out of this place
If it's the last thing we ever do
We gotta get out of this place
Girl, there's a better life for me and you
Somewhere baby, somehow I know it

We gotta get out of this place
If it's the last thing we ever do
We gotta get out of this place
Girl, there's a better life for me and you
Believe me baby
I know it baby
You know it too

Ellie

LivinSoFree
01-10-05, 09:49 AM
The Animals were awesome... We Gotta Get Outta This Place is one of my favorites...

Namvet67
01-10-05, 09:52 AM
I still pay "We gotta get out of this place" as the last song on the juke box when I leave my favorite bar. A different meaning today!

jinelson
01-10-05, 10:21 AM
Holy Mackrel Ellie, I alsmost forgot "We Gotta Get Out Of This Place" it was like our anthem back then. "Leaving On A Jet Plane" also comes back to me.

thedrifter
01-10-05, 10:26 AM
Yep....

I still listen to these songs till this day....

When my children play these songs in front of their friends they say, why do you listen to them...

They all say, Dad fought in the war, and played them to keep modivated and mom was a damn hippie.....LOL;)

Ellie

jinelson
01-10-05, 10:31 AM
Hey Ellie Im a big time Dylan fan and Im not a hippie my DI's said I had to knock that cheap civilian stuff off.

dgallagher
01-10-05, 10:52 AM
CCR - didn't come out till 70' though! dg

Run through the Jungle


Whoa, thought it was a nightmare,
Lo, it's all so true,
They told me, "Don't go walking slow
'Cause Devil's on the loose."

CHORUS:
Better run through the jungle,
Better run through the jungle,
Better run through the jungle,
Woa, Don't look back to see.

Thought I heard a rumbling
Calling to my name,
Two hundred million guns are loaded
Satan cries, "Take aim!"

CHORUS

Over on the mountain
Thunder magic spoke,
"Let the people know my wisdom,
Fill the land with smoke."

CHORUS

Osotogary
01-10-05, 11:53 AM
"For what it's worth" by Buffalo Springfield.
There's somethin' happening here, what it is ain't
exactly clear...... and so on. This song was played alot during
the seventies.
Saw Eric Burdon and the Animals in San Francisco. House of the Rising Sun and Sky Pilot were performed as well as "We Got To Get Out Of This Place."
Couldn't afford to see them now.

jinelson
01-10-05, 11:57 AM
Dang Gary I remember those as well, this thread has been a memory lane.

Namvet67
01-10-05, 12:00 PM
All of the above bring back the sights,smells and sounds of Vietnam....I almost forgot about sky pilot..heard it the first time in base camp Danang. Thanks,Gary

thedrifter
01-10-05, 12:02 PM
Barry Mcguire's Eve of Destruction

This Material World . . . is overheatin'
Ol' Mother Nature . . . is taking a beatin'
A global disaster is what we're promotin'
If we don't stop now, our kids will be totin'
Backpack air conditioners and sun tan lotion
So they tell me, over and over and over again, my friend
Ahh, we'd best believe . . . we're on the Eve of Destruction

Don't you understand what I'm tryin' to say?
Spaceship Earth's got a broken temperature gauge
Better buckle your seat belts and fold up your trays
'Cause there'll be palm trees growin' in Portland, Maine
And Denver will be lookin' at the ocean waves
So they tell me, over and over and over again, my friend
Ahh, we'd best believe . . . we're on the Eve of Destruction

The ozone's been chlorofluorocarbonatin'
Now the ultraviolet bandwidth is over-radiatin'
If you worship your tan, well here comes the Sun
Have 'em stick a fork in you when you're done
'Cause you're not gonna have enough mellatonin
To keep skin cancer from spoilin' your fun
So you'd better listen up, 'cause the warnings have begun
So they tell me, over and over and over again, my friend
Ahh, we'd best believe . . . we're on the Eve of Destruction

But all those big-wigs attending their summit
Insist on meeting in air-conditioned comfort
Their limosines guzzle down fossile fuels
And they fly in on jets that emit noxious fumes
Then they point their fingers at us and accuse
If they're worried about hot air, then I'd suggest
That they keep their speeches to 5 minutes or less!
And they tell me, over and over and over and over again, my friend
We'd best believe . . . we're on the Eve of Destruction
Yeah, we'd best believe . . . we're on the Eve of Destruction

Parody version © 1997 Paul Silhan

To Hear the sound clip
http://www.paulsilhan.com/eve.htm

Ellie

Phantom Blooper
01-10-05, 12:08 PM
Song Duration 3:32
Written by John Deacon.
Sung by Freddie Mercury.


Comments
___________
Released 22nd August, 1980 - Spent 9 weeks on chart and reached number 7.


Lyrics
___________
Ooh, let's go
Steve walks warily down the street
With the brim pulled way down low
Ain't no sound but the sound of his feet
Machine guns ready to go

Are you ready, hey, are you ready for this
Are you hangin' on the edge of your seat
Out of the doorway the bullets rip
To the sound of the beat - yeah

Another one bites the dust
Another one bites the dust
And another one gone and another one gone
Another one bites the dust, eh
Hey, I'm gonna get you too
Another one bites the dust

How do you think I'm going to get along
Without you when you're gone
You took me for everything that I had
And kicked me out on my own

Are you happy ? Are you satisfied ?
How long can you stand the heat
Out of the doorway the bullets rip
To the sound of the beat
Look out

Another one bites the dust
Another one bites the dust
And another one gone and another one gone
Another one bites the dust, eh
Hey, I'm gonna get you too
Another one bites the dust

Hey
Oh take it
Bites the dust - bite the dust hey
Hey
Another one bites the dust
Another one bites the dust, ow
Another one bites the dust, hey hey
Another one bites the dust, heeey
Ooh show down

There are plenty of ways that you can hurt a man
And bring him to the ground
You can beat him
You can cheat him
You can treat him bad and leave him
When he's down, yeah
But I'm ready, yes I'm ready for you
I'm standing on my own two feet
Out of the doorway the bullets rip
Repeating to the sound of the beat
Oh yeah

Another one bites the dust
Another one bites the dust
And another one gone and another one gone
Another one bites the dust, yeah
Hey, I'm gonna get you too
Another one bites the dust
Shoot out
Hey, alright

_________________________________________________

Played For Us On Armed Forces Radio/Taped It And Broadcast It Everytime A Raghead Was Waxed! Semper-Fi! "Never Forget" Chuck Hall:marine:

Namvet67
01-10-05, 12:12 PM
Too real...I'm putting on my flack jacket....incoming!

Osotogary
01-10-05, 12:14 PM
Sky Pilot
When the Animals were on stage the backdrop to the music was a film of WWI dog fights, bi-planes and all throughout the entire song. A visual blast for sure.
And just because I was living in San Francisco didn't mean that I was going to wear flowers on my head. When I hear "If you're going to San Francisco be sure to wear some flowers on your head" etc, etc. Yuk, puke, yuk. There was a case of someone not even from San Francisco telling everyone in San Francisco to wear flowers in their hair. The nerve. :)

Namvet67
01-10-05, 12:28 PM
Animals...it's my life & I'll do want what I want to do....please don't let me be misunderstood....

thedrifter
01-10-05, 12:42 PM
Feel Like I'm Fixin' To Die Rag
Country Joe and the Fish
Album: I Feel Liike I'm Fixining to Die

Lyrics:

The Fish Cheer & I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-To-Die Rag
Gimme an F!
F!
Gimme an I!
I!
Gimme an S!
S!
Gimme an H!
H!
What's that spell ?
FISH!
What's that spell ?
FISH!
What's that spell ?
FISH!
Yeah, come on all of you, big strong men,
Uncle Sam needs your help again.
He's got himself in a terrible jam
Way down yonder in Vietnam
So put down your books and pick up a gun,
We're gonna have a whole lotta fun.
And it's one, two, three,
What are we fighting for ?
Don't ask me, I don't give a damn,
Next stop is Vietnam;
And it's five, six, seven,
Open up the pearly gates,
Well there ain't no time to wonder why,
Whoopee! we're all gonna die.
Well, come on generals, let's move fast;
Your big chance has come at last.
Gotta go out and get those reds -
The only good commie is the one who's dead
And you know that peace can only be won
When we've blown 'em all to kingdom come.
And it's one, two, three,
What are we fighting for ?
Don't ask me, I don't give a damn,
Next stop is Vietnam;
And it's five, six, seven,
Open up the pearly gates,
Well there ain't no time to wonder why
Whoopee! we're all gonna die.
Huh!
Well, come on Wall Street, don't move slow,
Why man, this is war au-go-go.
There's plenty good money to be made
By supplying the Army with the tools of the trade,
Just hope and pray that if they drop the bomb,
They drop it on the Viet Cong.
And it's one, two, three,
What are we fighting for ?
Don't ask me, I don't give a damn,
Next stop is Vietnam.
And it's five, six, seven,
Open up the pearly gates,
Well there ain't no time to wonder why
Whoopee! we're all gonna die.
Well, come on mothers throughout the land,
Pack your boys off to Vietnam.
Come on fathers, don't hesitate,
Send 'em off before it's too late.
Be the first one on your block
To have your boy come home in a box.
And it's one, two, three
What are we fighting for ?
Don't ask me, I don't give a damn,
Next stop is Vietnam.
And it's five, six, seven,
Open up the pearly gates,
Well there ain't no time to wonder why,
Whoopee! we're all gonna die.






The Words to Sky Pilot

Sky Pilot
Eric Burdon and the Animals (1968)
Eric Burdon, Vic Briggs, John Weider, Barry Jenkins, Danny McCulloch
Album: The Best of Eric Burton& The Animals


Lyrics:

He blesses the boys as they stand in life
The smell of gun grease and their bayonets they shine
He's here to help them all that he can
To make them feel wanted he's a good holy man.
Sky pilot, sky pilot, how high can you fly
You'll never never never reach the sky.
He smiles at the young soldiers
Tells them it's all right
He knows of their fears in the forthcoming fight
Soon there'll be blood and many will die
Mother and fathers back home they will cry.
Sky pilot, sky pilot, how high can you fly
You'll never never never reach the sky.
He humbles a prayer and it ends with a smile
The order is given they move down the line
But hell stay behind and he'll meditate
But it won't stop to bleeding or is the hate.
As the young men move out into the battle zone
He feels good with god you're never alone
He feels so tired and he lays on his bed
Hopes the men will find courage
In the words that he's said.
Sky pilot, sky pilot, how high can you fly
You'll never never never reach the sky.
You're soldiers of god you must understand
The fate of your country is in your young hands
May god give you strength do your job really well
If it all was worth in only time it will tell.
In the morning they returned with tears in their eyes
The stench of death drifts up to the skies
A young soldier so it looks at the sky bright
Remember the words thou shalt not kill.


Ellie

thedrifter
01-10-05, 12:44 PM
Get Together
Youngbloods (1969)
Album: The Get Together/Elephant Mountain
Written by Dino Valenti

Lyrics:

Love is but the song we sing
Fear the way we die
It can make the mountains ring
Make the angels cry
So the bird is on the wind
You may not know why

Hey people now, smile on your brother
Let me see you get together
And love one another

Some may come and some may go
We will surely pass
Will the one who left us here
Return for us at last?
We are but a moment's sunlight
Fading in the grass

Hey people now, smile on your brother
Let me see you get together
And love one another

If you hear the song I'm singing
You will understand
You hold the key to love and fear
All in your trembling hand
Just one key unlocks them both
It`s at your command
Hey people now, smile on your brother
Let me see you get together
And love one another





Abraham, Martin, and John
Words and Music by Richard Holler
Artist:Dion
Album: The original"Dion" album Is Out of Print


Lyrics:


Has anybody here seen my old friend Abraham?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
He freed a lot of people,
But it seems the good die young,
But I just looked around and he's gone.
Has anybody here seen my old friend John?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
He freed a lot of people,
But it seems the good die young,
But I just looked around and he's gone.

Has anybody here seen my old friend Martin?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
He freed a lot of people,
But it seems the good die young,
But I just looked around and he's gone.

Didn't you love the things they stood for?
Didn't they try to find some good for you and me?
And we'll be free.
Someday soon,
it's gonna be
One day.

Has anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' Up over the hill,
With Abraham, Martin and John

Namvet67
01-10-05, 12:45 PM
Wow...it's a lot different when you just sit here and read those words....Thanks Ellie

Koble_USMC
01-10-05, 01:02 PM
Music has always been the outlet of the human soul. It is amazing for us younger Marines to see that it affects you members of the 'Old Corps' just as it affects us today. It can be used in so many ways, for getting ready before a fight, do deal with the stress after, and for remembering fellow Marines that the songs meant a great deal too.

Namvet67
01-10-05, 01:07 PM
You got that right Koble_USMC.....Music takes you back....yesterday,today or tomorrow.

thedrifter
01-10-05, 01:24 PM
Fortunate Son
Creedence Clearwater Revival (1969)
Album: Willy & The Poor Boys

Lyrics:

Some folks are born made to wave the flag
Ooh, they're red, white and blue
And when the band plays "Hail To The Chief"
Ooh, they point the cannon at you,

Lord It ain't me, it ain't me
I ain't no senator's son
It ain't me, it ain't me
I ain't no fortunate one

Some folks are born silver spoon in hand
Lord, don't they help themselves, oh
But when the taxman come to the door
Lord, the house look a like a rummage sale, yes

It ain't me, it ain't me
I ain't no millionaire's son
It ain't me, it ain't me
I ain't no fortunate one

Yeah, some folks inherit star spangled eyes
Ooh, they send you down to war
And when you ask them, how much should we give
Ooh, they only answer, more, more, more, yeah

It ain't me, it ain't me
I ain't no military son
It ain't me, it ain't me
I ain't no fortunate one

It ain't me, it ain't me
I ain't no fortunate one
It ain't me, it ain't me
I ain't no fortunate son



Universal Soldier
Donovan (1965)
Album: Universal Soldier


Lyrics:

He's five feet two and he's six feet four
He fights with missiles and with spears
He's all of 31 and he's only 17
He's been a soldier for a thousand years

He's a Catholic, a Hindu, an athiest, a Jain,
a Buddhist and a Baptist and a Jew
and he knows he shouldn't kill
and he knows he always will
kill you for me my friend and me for you

And he's fighting for Canada,
he's fighting for France,
he's fighting for the USA,
and he's fighting for the Russians
and he's fighting for Japan,
and he thinks we'll put an end to war this way

And he's fighting for Democracy
and fighting for the Reds
He says it's for the peace of all
He's the one who must decide
who's to live and who's to die
and he never sees the writing on the walls

But without him how would Hitler have
condemned him at Dachau
Without him Caesar would have stood alone
He's the one who gives his body
as a weapon to a war
and without him all this killing can't go on

He's the universal soldier and he
really is to blame
His orders come from far away no more
They come from him, and you, and me
and brothers can't you see
this is not the way we put an end to war.



The Unknown Soldier
The Doors(1968)
Album: Waiting For The Sun


Lyrics:

Wait until the war is over
And we're both a little older
The unknown soldier

Breakfast where the news is read
Television children fed
Unborn living, living, dead
Bullet strikes the helmet's head

And it's all over
For the unknown soldier
It's all over
For the unknown soldier

Hut
Hut
Hut ho hee up
Hut
Hut
Hut ho hee up
Hut
Hut
Hut ho hee up
Comp'nee
Halt
Preeee-zent!
Arms!

Make a grave for the unknown soldier
Nestled in your hollow shoulder
The unknown soldier

Breakfast where the news is read
Television children fed
Bullet strikes the helmet's head

And, it's all over
The war is over
It's all over
The war is over
Well, all over, baby
All over, baby
Oh, over, yeah
All over, baby
Wooooo, hah-hah
All over
All over, baby
Oh, woa-yeah
All over
All over
Heeeeyyyy


Ellie

thedrifter
01-10-05, 01:27 PM
War
Edwin Starr
Album: Motown Legends: War


Lyrics:

Oh no-there's got to be a better way
Say it again
There's got to be a better way-yeah
What is it good for?
*War has caused unrest
Among the younger generation
Induction then destruction
Who wants to die?
War-huh
What is it good for?
Absolutely nothing
Say it again
War-huh
What is it good for?
Absolutely nothing
Yeah
War-I despise
'Cos it means destruction
Of innocent lives
War means tears
To thousands of mothers how
When their sons go off to fight
And lose their lives
I said
War-huh
It's an enemy of all mankind
No point of war
'Cos you're a man
*(Repeat)
Give it to me one time-now
Give it to me one time-now
War has shattered
Many young men's dreams
We've got no place for it today
They say we must fight to keep our freedom
But Lord, there's just got to be a better way
It ain't nothing but a heartbreaker
War
Friend only to the undertaker
War
War
War-Good God, now
Now
Give it to me one time now
Now now
What is it good for?


OHIO
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, 1970
Album: 4 Way Street


Lyrics:
Tin soldiers and Nixon's coming
We're finally on our own
This summer I hear the drumming
Four dead in Ohio

Gonna get down to it soldiers are cutting us down
Should have been down long ago
What if you knew her and found her dead on the ground
How can you run when you know.
Gonna get down to it soldiers are cutting us down
Should have been down long ago
What if you knew her and found her dead on the ground
How can you run when you know.

jinelson
01-10-05, 01:33 PM
Get down with your bad self Ellie lets boogie

Jim

HardJedi
01-10-05, 01:44 PM
we used to plug alot of different music into our LAV'S internal comm system, Guns N Roses, Metallica, STP, even Slayer. Unfortunatley, one time plugges it into the wrong system, and we were brodcasting "welcome to the Jungle" over the company net. The captain wasn't any too pleased. :)

Phantom Blooper
01-10-05, 01:52 PM
One of our favorites - from 8/04
Below is an email excerpt from a friend of a friend of mine who is in Baghdad. It actually happened but the press does not like to report on sniper successes........... Bo

The military has been very busy here lately. Apparently, the Marines teamed up with some Psyop boys. The USMC put together two PLATOONS of snipers, & headed with the speaker boys out to Fallujah. When they got there, nobody in sight.

The speakers would blare, "Why don't you come out & fight. Why do you hide behind your women? Take off your Burkha & come out to meet us. We are ready to fight you." .... Nothing.

Keep speakers blaring. Pretty soon, one guy jumps up & starts coming out. BOOM. Down he goes.

Crank the speakers back up. "That guy wasn't righteous with Allah, or that couldn't have happened. Where are the righteous fighters that Allah will watch out for? Come out & show yourselves." BOOM.

By the end of the night, 42 insurgents had come to the call.


S/F Chuck Hall

LivinSoFree
01-10-05, 02:02 PM
^
Now THAT is motivating.

jinelson
01-10-05, 03:14 PM
It sure was. Meyer thank you for this post it sure made a bad monday morning at the office fun. And by the looks of Im not the only one that had fun.

Jim

Walter
01-11-05, 01:50 PM
Was anyone here in Nam when Ann Margaret and Johnny Rivers performed there in 66-67. If so, what did you think of the show?

W

Namvet67
01-11-05, 01:52 PM
I was in 1967...around Danang...Bob Hope was there as well. Great show but the one I went to was interupted by a near by rocket attack.....routine at the time.

yellowwing
01-11-05, 02:58 PM
The Soviet National Anthem

Unbreakable Union of freeborn Republics,
Great Russia has welded forever to stand.
Created in struggle by will of the people,
United and mighty, our Soviet land!

Sing to the Motherland, home of the free,
Bulwark of peoples in brotherhood strong.
O Party of Lenin, the strength of the people,
To Communism's triumph lead us on!

Through tempests the sunrays of freedom have cheered us,
Along the new path where great Lenin did lead.
To a righteous cause he raised up the peoples,
Inspired them to labour and valourous deed.

Sing to the Motherland, home of the free,
Bulwark of peoples in brotherhood strong.
O Party of Lenin, the stength of the people,
To Communism's triumph lead us on!

In the victory of Communism's immortal ideal,
We see the future of our dear land.
And to her fluttering scarlet banner,
Selflessly true we always shall stand!

Sing to the Motherland, home of the free,
Bulwark of peoples in brotherhood strong.
O Party of Lenin, the stength of the people,
To Communism's triumph lead us on!

And we still beat the crap out of them!