- Joined
- Apr 9, 2005
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The late sixties and early seventies were strange and interesting times. Back then, I was a liberal with a deeply embedded sense of duty. I was in Vietnam from mid 67 to May 69. Working the war and watching the anti war movement.
When I returned home I quietly harbored resentment to those who demeaned and disparaged those who served and even those who died. At the same time, I was beginning to see that the war at best was ill-advised and at worst, well...
I thought that the ant-war movement was a wild mix of the misguided, the opportunistic and the fiercely committed and I found it hard to tell who was who. I learned to try hard not to judge.
The antiwar music genre ran from awful to brilliant as did the performences thereof.
The late, great Bobby Bobby Darin had a big hit with Tim Hardin's "If I Were a Carpenter". Hardin's Tragic life links directly to the war. He took up heroin as a US Marine (Semper Fi, Taltos), fought it all his short life and died of an OD at 39. Bobby reciprocated the songwriting favor by penning "Simple Song of Freedom" which was first recorded by Tim Hardin, becoming Tim's biggest vocal hit.
Bobby however covered himself on one magic night at a folk concert (at the point in time where his career was trending from Vegas showman to committed anti-war folky) where he showed up in full tux on a spotlit stage and delivered what I believe to be the (certainly one of the) greatest antiwar performances ever. The still intensity and patriotism in this genuinely simple song moves me every time.
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/sA3Cc5-Tqfw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Cheers, BostonTim
When I returned home I quietly harbored resentment to those who demeaned and disparaged those who served and even those who died. At the same time, I was beginning to see that the war at best was ill-advised and at worst, well...
I thought that the ant-war movement was a wild mix of the misguided, the opportunistic and the fiercely committed and I found it hard to tell who was who. I learned to try hard not to judge.
The antiwar music genre ran from awful to brilliant as did the performences thereof.
The late, great Bobby Bobby Darin had a big hit with Tim Hardin's "If I Were a Carpenter". Hardin's Tragic life links directly to the war. He took up heroin as a US Marine (Semper Fi, Taltos), fought it all his short life and died of an OD at 39. Bobby reciprocated the songwriting favor by penning "Simple Song of Freedom" which was first recorded by Tim Hardin, becoming Tim's biggest vocal hit.
Bobby however covered himself on one magic night at a folk concert (at the point in time where his career was trending from Vegas showman to committed anti-war folky) where he showed up in full tux on a spotlit stage and delivered what I believe to be the (certainly one of the) greatest antiwar performances ever. The still intensity and patriotism in this genuinely simple song moves me every time.
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/sA3Cc5-Tqfw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Cheers, BostonTim
