Research Paper
Kyle Kittleson
HON 4280
Spring/Summer 2015
Final Paper
The Americanization of South Vietnam: How Rock Music Shaped the Vietnam War
The Vietnam War, fought in the late 1960s through the mid 1970s, was a war defined not only by politics and warfare, but also by popular culture. At the time, rock music was becoming the most popular genre back in America. When soldiers were deployed, they brought the music genre with them through personal cassettes and over the Armed Forces Vietnam Network Radio, a radio broadcast network funded by the American government to entertain deployed soldiers stationed in Vietnam. The people in South Vietnam, where the majority of the war conflict took place, heard and later began playing this rock music. Rock n’ Roll music Americanized South Vietnam during the Vietnam War, because it brought the antiwar voices overseas to the American soldiers and was adopted by the natives as a primary part of their popular culture. “Americanization of the conflict in Vietnam, which began in the spring of 1965, marked a turning point in the Vietnamese Revolution” . The Vietnamese Revolution refers to a social change within Vietnam, breaking away from traditional and formal customs in favor of a more energetic and free lifestyle in South Vietnam. Vietnam was the first war where antiwar music was not only acceptable, but also the most popular. Former American wars consisted of soldiers listening to music and viewing propaganda that supported the war they were in. Opposition to American wars back at home was virtually non-existent before the Vietnam conflict. Rock music contained many of the same elements as previous genres used to power freedom movements. Loud instruments, fast tempo, and uncensored lyrics were all traits making rock music suitable for war protestors. Vietnam War era music was based on uncertainty and opposition to American youth fighting a battle they did not even fully understand. American soldiers used this rock music to aid their morale and entertain themselves during the war. At first, American rock musicians released songs expressing their opposition of the American government in becoming involved in the Vietnam conflict. Many of the soldiers fighting in this conflict were drafted into the military and shared this opposition to the conflict. Due to the increased need for American troops, the American government implemented the military draft where all males over the age of eighteen were eligible to be selected for service. This involuntarily brought many men away from their families and current occupations. In 1965, Loretta Lynn released her song titled “Dear Uncle Sam.” In her hit single, the lyrics state, “I really love my country but I also love my man, he proudly wears the colors of the old red white and blue, while I wear a heartache since he left me for you.” This song is an example of the sorrow many soldiers and their families felt during the draft. This sorrow led to further opposition to the war. Another example of a song that opposes the military draft is Creedence Clearwater Rival’s hit song, “Fortunate Son.” The lyrics include, “It ain't me, it ain't me, I ain't no senator's son, son.” This line directly represents the general opinion that wealthy and political figures and their families were immune from the draft. Many were angered by this idea that money allowed for immunity to the draft, since most people who opposed the war came from a working class background. The soldiers were able to relate to the opposition through these songs and feel like they were not alone in their resistance to the conflict. Other songs directly stated their opposition to the war. In the song, “The War Drags On,” Donovan sings, “They're just there to try and make the people free, but the way that they're doing it, it don't seem like that to me, Just more blood-letting and misery and tears that this poor country's known for the last twenty years.” This song directly expresses American civilians’ opinion that America’s war tactics were morally wrong and negatively affecting the Vietnamese people, which the American government swore to protect through the conflict. The American media exposed a lot of gruesome facts and images from Vietnam. This was the first war where media coverage was broadcasted daily back in America. People, including rock musicians, saw this coverage and expressed their opinions. Rock songs expressing the opposition to the store fueled the negative public opinion about the war in America. Despite the majority of American rock songs being based on the opposition the Vietnam War, there were also songs supporting the war effort. Following the initial wave of antiwar music, “subsequent releases among similar lines had two main themes: first that the U.S. was fighting a defensive war which, if it did not take place in Vietnam, would have to take place on the U.S. mainland; and second that the American soldiers who had already died legitimated the war and demanded its successful resolution” . The Vietnam War was a satellite conflict of the Cold War taking place between America and the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union sided with the north and America sided with the republic-based south. Many believed the Vietnam War was necessary in keeping the tensions away from America. Musicians wrote lyrics detailing this. An American band, called The Spokesmen, released a song titled, “Dawn of Correction.” This song was a direct response to Barry McGuire’s “Eve of Destruction.” In the song, The Spokesmen sing, “The western world has a common dedication, To keep free people from Red domination And maybe you can't vote, boy, but man your battle stations, Or there'll be no need for votin' in future generations.” This song expresses the idea that without America’s involvement in Vietnam, communist nations would gain an advantage in winning the Cold War and ultimately, bringing an end to America. These types of songs gave the soldiers a heightened sense of patriotism and offered the sensation of other peoples’ understanding of the soldiers’ hardships while serving over in Vietnam. Other songs were made to honor the American soldiers who had already lost their lives fighting in the Vietnam War. Staff Sergeant Barry Sadler released the song, “Ballad of the Green Berets,” where he sings, “Her Green Beret has met his fate, He has died for those oppressed, Leaving her this last request, Put silver wings on my sons chest.” This song gained popularity among supporters of the war, because Sadler composed this song while recovering from a leg wound from fighting in the war himself. This led to American soldiers feeling a sense of pride, knowing that even a man who had to physically sacrifice still could show support for soldiers and their actions. Even though these songs gained moderate popularity in both America and south Vietnam, the general opinion was still in opposition to the war. The rock songs, often antiwar as mentioned earlier, helped to rally peace demonstrations back in the United States and also in South Vietnam. Many people could not draw good reasoning behind America’s involvement in the Vietnam War. American musicians, such as Bob Seger and The Byrds, started to write song lyrics representing their resistance to the war. Their songs were used to unite people in opposition to the war. Dylan and other musicians held concerts, where anti-war protestors gathered and gained popularity. American musician, The resistance-based lyrics were not just present in American musicians, but also Vietnamese musicians. “[Vietnamese groups] have all written thousands of new songs on present problems, others’ aspirations, on the resistance” . Those problems included their homeland becoming a war zone and thousands of innocent Vietnamese civilians dying as a result of the gruesome warfare tactics. American forces became infamous for the high death toll of Vietnamese innocent people associated with the war. Opposition to this high death toll was reflected in rock music. People in South Vietnam started to side with the anti-war protestors back in America and resented American involvement. Communist take over started to seem like a better option than the continued violence. The South Vietnamese saw this music as a way to make a living by covering American rock bands and performing them to American soldiers. American soldiers often found themselves bored while stationed in South Vietnamese cities not directly involved in the conflict or while stationed on American bases. Vietnamese entertainers were allowed on the military bases at night to perform for the soldiers. These soldiers demanded entertainment similar to what the were used to back home in America. Rock music had been their primary source of this entertainment prior to being deployed. This eventually led to South Vietnamese bands adopting the music genre as one of their own. “[Vietnam’s youth bands] became professional enough to entertain American servicemen and played pop-rock hits at nightclubs and at military bases” . Bars and nightclubs in Saigon and other South Vietnamese cities held little concerts and hired South Vietnamese bands to attract American soldiers. This new form of work for many Vietnamese musicians is detailed in BBC’s Vietnam’s Rock n’ Roll War . In the radio broadcast complement to the documentary, it is stated that Vietnamese musicians would gather in Saigon to make a career performing for American soldiers. This brought South Vietnamese civilians and American soldiers closer together after American anti-war propaganda and civilian violence drew them apart. Besides the American soldier audience, many civilians in South Vietnam started to attend these Vietnamese rock bands’ performances. Soon after, the people of South Vietnam started to demand more rock songs just like the soldiers. This led to more Vietnamese rock cover bands being formed and the genre taking over traditional music as the dominant genre among the youth. When the South Vietnamese audience grew large enough, the Vietnamese rock bands then started to create rock songs in their native language and own lyrics. This wave of new rock songs in Vietnam is referred to when “Vietnamese went from being enthusiastic fans to forming groups, setting Vietnamese songs to existing songs and, in the end, creating their own songs”9. Vietnamese groups, including the Phoenix Band and Lê Huu Hà, started to use the influence of American rock music, to create their own rock songs. These bands would write songs expressing their admiration for American soldiers and their hope for eventual freedom. Before the conversion, traditional Vietnamese music was the most popular genre in all of Vietnam. This music consisted of sounds formed from simple two or three string instruments and resonating bamboo instruments. The conversion to rock added more explosive sounds to the scene. Rock music is famous for the use of the electric guitar, heavy drumming, and a wide array of beat transitions. Evidence of this Americanization of the instruments used to make Vietnamese music can still be found today. Modern Vietnamese popular songs contain electric guitars and exotic beats. The new Vietnamese genre brought South Vietnam and American soldiers closer together. Despite coming from different backgrounds, both sides were able to share a common passion for rock music. The introduction of rock music sang in Vietnamese by native bands was introduced in three stages. The first being when small foreign bands would cover American songs in clubs and bases. The second stage, called action music, consisted of the blending of American rock style songs and the Vietnamese language. Musicians would alter the lyrics of popular American songs so they could be sung effectively in Vietnamese. The third stage is called youth music. Youth music is similar to action music, with the exception of being focused more on expressing feelings and not simply to provide explosiveness. The final stage refers to the Vietnamization of youth music. This is the time when the people of Saigon used the American rock music influences to create a style all their own. The Vietnamese variations of rock not only sounded like the American versions, but also shared the same themes as American rock music. “Nostalgia and exoticism had been central themes of wartime South Vietnam” . Nostalgia is the affection of the past. Vietnamese civilians started to seek a form of entertainment that utilized their history to maintain pride and something exotic to appeal to the youth of the country. Vietnamese rock was the result of this. American rock music themes included change, rebellion, lust, love, and freedom of expression. While American rock music contained these themes, the people of South Vietnam were not able to directly relate to American references. Vietnamese musicians began writing lyrics with similar themes but traced references to traditional Vietnamese customs and historical events. Immediately following the withdrawal of American troops and the northern government taking control of the former republic-based South Vietnam, the Vietnamese Communist Party set out to erase all signs of Americanization in South Vietnam. The party wanted to return all of Vietnam back to its pre-war customs and ideology. Americanization of South Vietnam had brought ideas of freedom of expression and democracy to the nation, which the party strongly opposed. This included the banning of all American rock songs and their Vietnamese rock variations. Saigon, renamed Ho Chi Minh City following the communist take over in South Vietnam, had been a hotspot for rock music and its evolution into South Vietnamese popular culture. The city had been full of Vietnamese musicians covering American rock songs and writing their own rock songs. Civilians in the city were able to maintain their passion for rock music and continue to listen to the genre despite the communist party’s disapproval. Along with rock being kept as an underground passion in Vietnam, it was also kept alive by refugees from former South Vietnam continuing their rock music careers elsewhere. The American government was able to bring some of these refugees back to America, where they continued to write rock songs revolving around freedom and how the war changed their lives. Beginning in the early 1980s, Vietnam started to lessen their restrictions on western influences, especially American influences. “The ideological preachments of the Vietnam Communist Party seem very remote from what one sees and hears now in the streets. Vietnamese listen to foreign news broadcasts without interference…American rock music and Vietnamese variations on it are almost impossible to avoid” . Rock music once again flourished in local bars and clubs. Vietnamese rock bands were able to perform live again and climbed the top song charts in the now unified Vietnam. Even long after the withdrawal of American troops from South Vietnam and the country becoming entirely communist, signs of rock music’s influence on the country can be commonly seen. “Well after war’s end and unification with the north, these sentiments were still readily abundant. Travel to the former South Vietnam, in the early nineties, was a curiously retro experience. A spell in an average Ho Chi Minh City would involuntarily reacquaint visitors with versions of any array of pop and rock hits from the fifties, sixties, and seventies”11. America was able to Americanized the mainstream music scene in South Vietnam even after their withdrawal. American rock music could still be readily purchased and new Vietnamese rock bands continued to come into the mainstream popular culture. “In the 1990s, the sensual rhythms, harmonies, and melodies; the themes of lost love; and the sultry crooning of yore again dominated the soundscape of the Vietnamese public domain”12. Even though the country had some regulations on expressing ideas of freedom and non-traditional ways, rock music became acceptable again. Vietnamese variations of rock music have become mainstream in former South Vietnam. Rock music was only the start of Vietnam remaining Americanized long after the war. Rock involved into metal, pop, and country music also becoming popular in the nation. Top songs in Vietnam today are either American songs or ones sounding strikingly similar to them. Prior to the Vietnam War, Vietnam and America were very much different. Today, both nations share similar popular culture interests and bands from both travel to one another to tour. Rock music created a connection between two politically opposite countries. Rock n’ Roll music Americanized South Vietnam during the course of the Vietnam War because it brought the antiwar voices overseas to the American soldiers, and later, was adopted by the people of South Vietnam as part of their popular culture. “Rock’s relations with the invasion have always been extremely ambivalent, and its contribution to resistance is more than matched by he many forms of its instrumentality in the war economics, material and physic”5. The Vietnam War became an example of how America and its popular culture was able to influence the minds and interests of the people of another nation. Transnational history is defined as crossing national boundaries, often without original intention to do so. American rock music was created in the midst of a young American youth rebelling and expressing their more explosive and open-minded personalities. Those traits were carried thousands of miles overseas to South Vietnam through rock music cassettes belonging to the soldiers and radio broadcast controlled by the American government. “The political crossroads turned into a dead end for the United States with the loss of the Vietnam War…But a musical crossroads developed and it led to an Americanization of Vietnam’s popular music culture for several decades.” While warfare was reshaping the political and economic structure of South Vietnam, rock music was reshaping its social structure. American rock music Americanized the popular culture of South Vietnam during and long after the Vietnam War conflict. This proves that ideas and principals brought out through popular culture last through generations. Music has been a key way to get thousands of people to relate to a similar view and unite them for a specific cause. Even though America lost the Vietnam War, its music is still alive today and has brought freedom of expression n to the nation. Vietnamese people are able to blend their ideas of youth and freedom with their traditional customs. While the Vietnam War did not result in any progress or setbacks for the black freedom movements back in America, the conflict did bring out the idea that rock music has the ability to express political ideas. Rock music replaced some jazz music as the medium of expression for the black freedom movement.