Fighting for Dear Old Uncle Sam
1963 · Folkways FA 2467 · St. Louis, Missouri
- Artist
- J. D. Short
- Title
- Fighting for Dear Old Uncle Sam
- Release
- Blues From The Mississippi Delta
- Year
- 1963
- Label
- Folkways # FA 2467
- Format
- LP · Compilation
- Language
- English
- Country
- St. Louis, Missouri, USA
- Genre
- Blues · Delta Blues · Country Blues
- Primary theme
- Home Front Perspective / Soldier's Perspective
Annotation — Blues songs
LP, split between two artists rather than a collaboration, features the song "Fighting for Dear Old Uncle Sam" (Folkways Records # FA 2467) by Delta Blues artist J.D. Short, born on 26 February 1902 in Port Gibson, Mississippi, USA, and died on 21 October 1962 in St. Louis, Missouri, USA. He played guitar and the harmonica. He moved to St. Louis in the mid-20s, and recorded music in the 30s. Serving in World War Two, like many of his contemporaries, he disappeared for a couple decades, before re-emerging in the late 50s, early 60s blues revival. This song seems to be in reference to World War Two, "may go down in South Pacific, going down in a European land", but released in the early Vietnam War-era, thus included here. In contained vivid combat descriptions, "in some old foxhole... boys, we was afraid to raise our heads".
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Lyrics
English: Tell me war is all over, yes, gonna be right here... / Well on account of so many women now, totting away the soldiers' monthly pay / I may go down in South Pacific, going down in a European land / Where some ever I go down swinging boys, I'm going down fighting for dear old Uncle Sam / So dark was the night now, people, cold, cold was the ground / Me and my buddies in some old foxhole, we had to keep our heads all down / Well, machine guns and cannon roaring / Boys, we was afraid to raise our heads / You know if bayonets cost a million dollars, boy, now you know we'd have all been dead / Yes, the first of the month now, salute the lieutenant and get our pay / There's a little piece of paper laying on the side, sign it, send your wife home allotment pay / Some day they'll be so glad when the boys all come back home again / You'll get so many soldiers on the plane / The soldiers ain't gonna be your friend / Honey the war is all over / Ain't nothing but a little shout / 'Cause the war is all over, you just don't know what it's all about
Notes
On the various-artists compilation; track A5. Split LP credited Son House & J. D. Short; side A (A1-A5) by J. D. Short, side B by Son House (from Library of Congress archives). J.D. Short tracks recorded by Samuel B. Charters on 3 July 1962 in St. Louis, Missouri. Cover design Ronald Clyne; photography David Gahr; lacquer cut Peter Bartok; plated at Dulcet Tone Corporation. Includes full-size booklet with notes and complete lyrics. Matrix FA2467 A PB / FA2467 B P.B DT. Reissued as Verve Folkways FV-9035 (1966).
About the artist
J.D. Short was born on 26 December 1902 in Port Gibson, Mississippi, moved to St. Louis in 1923 where he was based, and died there of a heart attack on 21 October 1962. [Source: Wikipedia]