Every theme tagged on the 2 songs from this release — parent themes with their sub-themes (number of songs). Click a theme for its definition and all records carrying it.
It looked at the perspective of a soldier drafted to war and killed in action (K.I.A.): "drafted in sixty-three... he wrote this last month, last week he was dead" . It argued that the war was virtually unwinnable: "we'll have to flatten the country... all gutted and spattered with napalm" - a reference to Napalm B - a jellied gasoline mixture, with polystyrene, benzene, and gasoline. Declared a war-crime since 1980, the US government extensively used this weapon during the Vietnam conflict, dropping 388,000 tons on Indochina between 1963 and 1973.123 The song also noted the prominence of T.V. ("television war") - a reflection on both the media portrayal of the war, and the delivery of war images directly into the homes of Americans in the 1960s: "on T.V. some general says 'we must be tough'" .
Iconic American contemporary folk singer, Pete Seeger (born 3 May 1919 in Manhattan, New York, USA, died on 27 January 2014, same location) played a key role in the 1950s contemporary folk revival and the 1960s anti-war and Civil Rights movement. He often wrote political songs, protesting against war, segregation, and calling for environmental protection. His body of songs referencing the Vietnam War is significant in both themes and volume: "The Willing Conscript" on the album Broadside Ballads Volume 2 (1963); "Beans in My Ear", "King Henry", and "The Draft Dodger Rag" on Dangerous Songs!? (1966); "Waist Deep in the Big Muddy" and "Down By the Riverside" on the album Waist Deep in the Big Muddy and Other Love Songs (1967); "Backlash Blues", "Talking Ben Tre", and "The Torn Flag" on the album Pete Seeger Now (1968); "Anti-Vietnam Songs / Waist Deep in the Big Muddy / Arts in a Changing Society / Violence and Protest" on the live album Sings and Answers Questions (1968); "Bring Them Home" and "Ballad of the Fort Hood Three" on the album Young vs. Old (1969); "I Feel Like I'm Fixin' to Die Rag" (1970, promo single only); "Last Train to Nuremberg", "Uncle Ho", and "Our Generation" on the album Rainbow Race (1971); and rewritten lyrics to "Everybody Has the Right to Live" (1971) with Rev. Frederick Douglass Kirkpatrick, published in Broadside, May/June 1971, but not recorded. [Source: A Pete Seeger Discography: Seventy Years of Recordings (David King Dunaway, 2010)]
Also known as "I Mind My Own Business", Broadside Magazine # 58