Music brings it all back like a flash!

Image above: Photographer: Richard William Crothers. Nui Dat, South Vietnam. 1967. Young South Australian singer, Bev Harrell, performs on stage for about 1,500 diggers at the Task Force Base during the Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC) Christmas concert.

The power of music for recollection

At our recent briefing, Bob Kearney made a poignant statement in relation to his time in Vietnam and now. Bob said that the thing that hits him the most is when he hears the music of the time and how it takes him back there. In response, Elspeth has done an incredible job in putting together a Songbook for the tour. The book contains information on many of the songs of the Vietnam War era and we will be able to listen and maybe even sing them on the trip. Among the student group I understand we have some musical individuals, so the work of Elspeth will add a soundtrack to our trip.  Thanks greatly Espleth!!

 The poster for the 1987 movie 'Good Morning Vietnam'.

If you have not already done so, we suggest you watch the great 1987 movie titled ‘Good Morning Vietnam’. I know many of you would have already seen the movie but some of the scenes with the music of the time playing on the radio really gives an insight to the importance of the musical link with home for the soldiers and nurses. Robin Williams is amazing in the role of the DJ Adrian Cronauer (loosely based on the truth) and it really is one of those iconic movies from the 80’s (about the 60’s and 70’s in Vietnam).  

In relation to the Songbook, Elspeth writes:

It’s been a pleasure curating this collection of songs to help us feel immersed in the pop culture of the Vietnam War. The idea came to me on the day when we met the Premier: Bob Kearney said it’s songs that make him recall the war, more so than the typical sound of ‘choppers’, and a lot of the prize winners introduced themselves as musos. Personally, I knew a little about Normie Rowe’s story and enjoy listening to his music.

This is the link to follow the playlist in Spotify: https://goo.gl/Hrsvwp

You may be able to download the songs to your phone before the trip, so that you can listen to them without internet access on our flights and in Vietnam. Hopefully we will also be able to connect my phone to the bus stereo to listen to them together if we want.

Photographer: David Reginald Coombe. Phuoc Tuy province. May 1969. Trooper Norman J. (Normie) Rowe of Melbourne, Vic., with nine year old Vietnamese girl, Ha Tri Van Xuyen Moc. Trooper Rowe is a member of A Squadron, 3rd Cavalry Regiment, Royal Australian Armoured Corps.

Here is a list of some of the songs I have identified for us to listen to on the trip via Spotify.

Track 1: Khe Sanh by Cold Chisel (1978)

Track 2: I Was Only 19 by Redgum (1983)

Track 3: I Was Only 19 cover by The Herd featuring John Schumann (2005)

Track 4: The Wild One by Johnny O’Keefe (1959)

Track 5: He's My Blonde‐Headed, Stompie Wompie, Real Gone Surfer Boy by Little Pattie (1963)

Track 6: Ngarra Burra Ferra from The Sapphires: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (2012)

Track 7: It Ain’t Necessarily So by Normie Rowe and the Playboys (1965)

Track 8: Shakin’ All Over by Normie Rowe and the Playboys (1965)

Track 9: Que Sera, Sera by Normie Rowe and the Playboys (1965)

Track 10: Smiley by Ronnie Burns (1969)

Track 11: You Can’t Hurry Love by The Supremes (1966)

Track 12: Green, Green Grass of Home by Tom Jones (1967)

Track 13: We Gotta Get Out of This Place by The Animals (1965)

Track 14: I Feel Like I’m Fixin’ To Die Rag by Country Joe and the Fish (1967)

Track 15: Leaving on a Jet Plane by Peter, Paul, and Mary (1969)

Track 16: Detroit City by Bobby Bare (1963)

Track 17: Purple Haze by The Jimi Hendrix Experience (1967)

Track 18: Fortunate Son by Creedence Clearwater Revival (1969)

Track 19: (Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay by Otis Redding (1968)

Track 20: The Letter by The Box Tops (1967)

Track 21: Chain of Fools by Aretha Franklin (1967)

Track 22: Say It Loud—I’m Black and I’m Proud by James Brown (1968)

Track 23: These Boots Are Made for Walkin’ by Nancy Sinatra (1966)

Track 24: What’s Going On by Marvin Gaye (1970)

Track 25: Ring of Fire by Johnny Cash (1963)

Track 26: And When I Die by Blood, Sweat, and Tears (1969)

Track 27: My Girl by The Temptations (1965)

Track 28: Reflections of My Life by Marmalade (1969)

Track 29: The Ballad of the Green Berets by SSgt Barry Sadler (1966)

Track 31: Blowin’ in the Wind by Bob Dylan (1963)

Track 32: I Ain’t Marching Anymore by Phil Ochs (1965)

Track 33: Eve of Destruction by Barry McGuire (1965)

Track 34: Lyndon Johnson Told the Nation by Tom Paxton (1965)

Track 35: Waist Deep in the Big Muddy by Pete Seeger (1967)

Track 36: Alice’s Restaurant Massacree by Arlo Guthrie (1967)

Track 37: Backlash Blues by Nina Simone (1967)

Track 38: Saigon Bride by Joan Baez (1967)

Track 39: Handsome Johnny by Richie Havens (1967)

Track 40: 2+2=? by The Bob Seger System (1968)

Track 41: Imagine by John Lennon (1971)

Track 42: Vietnam by Jimmy Cliff (1970)

Track 43: Ohio by Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young (1970)

Track 44: War by Edwin Starr (1970)

Elspeth also recommends:

The Vietnam War: A Film by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick (2017)
The Soundtrack: Original Score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross
Music by The Silkroad Ensemble with Yo‐Yo Ma
Available on Spotify