Social Studies - Anti-Vietnam War Song

 Hi everyone! 

We have just finished our Beatlemania topic in social studies, talking about The Beatles tour around the world. We mainly researched about their tour in New Zealand, about where they went and what happened. 

For today´s social studies lesson, we are starting off with a new topic called Woodstock which is connected to the Vietnam war. 

For this lesson, we are required to blog about an anti-Vietnam war song. Including the lyrics, what the message of the song is. Also, evidence to back up our statement.

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Jimmy Cliff  - Vietnam

Lyrics:

Hey, Vietnam, Vietnam
Vietnam, Vietnam
Vietnam, Vietnam, Vietnam

Yesterday, I got a letter from my friend fighting in Vietnam
And this is what he had to say
"Tell all my friends that I'll be coming home soon
My time'll be up sometime 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 wrote 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

The message of this song, regarding the lyrics, shows that its main message is to stop the war. It seems like the author Jimmy Cliff had acknowledged the tragedy from the Vietnam war, and had possibly gone along with other songwriters. Jimmy Cliff's reason for writing this was to stop the war because families were losing their men. But not only that he had also written this song to support the soldiers fighting in the war. His goal or thought once he got a letter from his friend who was fighting in the war. Was to make a change through music, which made him devastated. Is that when his friend got back from the war he was sort of brain dead, he couldn't remember anything. Jimmy Cliff stated that ´it was as if he was dead´.

Resources: 

• https://www.songfacts.com/facts/jimmy-cliff/vietnam 
• https://genius.com/Jimmy-cliff-vietnam-lyrics