And Freedom Too

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Hitler Ain't Dead (Bill Frederick)	Vietnam Love Song (Judy Collins)	Thirty-Three Dollars (Malvina Reynolds)

Guerra in Vietnam: vista dagli USA

Parole e musica di Bill Frederick, sul quale poche informazioni sono reperibili in Rete.
Nei primi anni 60 era un giovane studente in chimica ed obiettore di coscienza al servizio militare in Vietnam.
Contribuì alcune sue canzoni su Broadside Magazine. Si veda anche Just Another Day
Questa fu pubblicata sul # 58 del 15 maggio 1965.
Nel 1967 le canzoni di Bill Frederick vennero raccolte nel disco intitolato “Hey, Hey… LBJ! Songs of the U.S. Anti-War Movement”

Una canzone ironica che spiega che cosa ci fosse dietro ai proclami di voler "difendere la libertà dal Comunismo" in Vietnam.

"Now let us assume that we lost Indo-China. If Indo-China goes, several things happen right away. The peninsula, the, last bit of land hanging on down there, would be scarcely defensible. The tin and tungsten that we so greatly value from that area would cease coming.... So when the U.S. votes $400,000,000 to help that war,we are not voting a giveaway program. We are voting for the cheapest way that we can to prevent the occurrence of something that would be of a most terrible significance to the U.S.A., our security, our power and ability to get certain things we need from the riches of the Indo-Chinese territory and from Southeast Asia."

President Dwight D. Eisenhower at a Governors' Conference
August 4, 1953

From the steaming Mekong Delta
To the shores of Tonkin Bay,
Advisers are advising
And the peasants romp and play.

Bombs of jellied gasoline
Make night as bright as day,
And burning huts and Buddhist monk
Are there to light our way.

We fight for coal and zinc and manganese,
Lumber, fruits and rice,
Rubber, pepper, iron ore, Kapok, tea and spice,
Quinine, bauxite, sugar, all the country through.
We fight for tin and tungsten... and freedom too.

Oh listen to the screaming
Across the jungle floor,
I hear the people shouting :
"Oh what a lovely war !"

We're testing our new weapons
And we're learning quite a lot,
And as they say in Washington :
"It's the only war we've got."

It's often I have wondered
As I marched to the war,
What is the use of dying,
What are we fighting for?

But Eisenhower said it,
I saw him on T. V.
When we took over from the French
In 1953 :

"We fight for coal and zinc and manganese,
Lumber, fruits and rice,
Rubber, pepper, iron ore, Kapok, tea and spice,
Quinine, bauxite, sugar, all the country through.
We fight for tin and tungsten... and freedom too."

We're fighting wars on poverty
Throughout the world today,
We're killing off poor people
In a most efficient way.

We can't lose Southeast Asia,
So we'll bomb it 'til it's bare,
And then I'll start a tungsten mine
And become a millionaire.

26/10/2016 - 23:19

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Lingua: Italiano

Traduzione italiana / Italian translation / Traduction italienne / Italiankielinen käännös:
Riccardo Venturi, 29-3-2021 23:02

...e anche per la libertà

Dal bollente Delta del Mekong
Alle rive della baia del Tonchino,
I consiglieri stan consigliando
E i contadini giocano scatenati.

Bombe di benzina gelatinosa
Illuminano la notte a giorno
E ci rischiaran la strada
Capanne in fiamme e il monaco buddista.

Combattiamo per il carbone, lo zinco e il manganese,
Per il legname, la frutta e il riso,
Gomma, pepe, minerale di ferro, kapok, thè e spezie,
Chinino, bauxite, zucchero, su e giù per il paese.
Combattiamo per lo stagno e il tungsteno...e anche per la libertà.

Oh, ascoltate le urla
Per il terreno della giungla,
Sento la gente che grida :
“Oh, che bella guerra !”

Stiamo provando le nostre nuove armi
E imparando un sacco di cose,
E, come dicono a Washington :
“È l'unica guerra che abbiamo.”

Spesso mi sono chiesto
Mentre andavo in guerra:
A che serve morire,
Per cosa combattiamo?

Però lo ha detto Eisenhower,
L'ho visto alla tivvù,
Quando siamo subentrati ai francesi
Nel 1953 :

"Combattiamo per il carbone, lo zinco e il manganese,
Per il legname, la frutta e il riso,
Gomma, pepe, minerale di ferro, kapok, thè e spezie,
Chinino, bauxite, zucchero, su e giù per il paese.
Combattiamo per lo stagno e il tungsteno...e anche per la libertà."

Oggi, in tutto il mondo,
Facciamo guerre per la libertà.
Facciamo fuori povera gente
In un modo assai efficace.

Non possiamo perdere il Sudest Asiatico,
Quindi lo bombarderemo fino a raderlo a suolo.
E poi avvierò una miniera di tungsteno
E diventerò milionario.

29/3/2021 - 23:03

Grazie, thank you! for preserving this song. Eisenhower spoke to the governors in 1953, that's '53. Ten years before we heard of it. By '63 it was the Democrats' war.

Tina Bea - 29/3/2021 - 22:23

Dear Tina Bea, thank you for your note. We've seized the occasion to improve the spelling and layout of this page (some mistakes are always bound to occur...) and to arrange for an Italian translation of the lyrics. Just imagine if Vietnam had been rich in oil...

CCG/AWS Staff - 29/3/2021 - 23:09

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Lingua: Inglese

2012 version about the war on terror from Rootworker/J. P. Befumo.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5s7BcVJ-rII

From the border hills of Kandahar
To the sands out Kabul way
Advisors are advising
And the tribesmen romp and play

Predator drones flown from afar
Make night as bright as day
And flaming buses filled with kids
Are there to light our way

We fight for oil and gas and pipeline rights
Iron and gold, it's true
Copper, cobalt, lithium,
Reconstruction contracts too
Profiteering corporations all the country through
Influence, prestige, hmm, oh yes, and freedom too

Oh, listen to the screaming
Across the desert floor
I hear (?) shouting
"Oh, what a lovely war!"

We're testing our new weapons
And we're learning quite a lot
And as they say in Washington:
"It's the only war we've got."

We fight for oil and gas and pipeline rights
Iron and gold, it's true
Copper, cobalt, lithium,
Reconstruction contracts too
Profiteering corporations all the country through
Influence, prestige, hmm, oh yes, and freedom too

It's often I have wondered
As I marched off to the war
What is the point of dying?
What are we fighting for?

But our president explained it
When I saw him on TV
There are terrorists all around us
Even ones we cannot see

We fight for oil and gas and pipeline rights
Iron and gold, it's true
Copper, cobalt, lithium,
Reconstruction contracts too
Profiteering corporations all the country through
Influence, prestige, hmm, oh yes, and freedom too

We're fighting wars on poverty
Throughout the world today
We're killing off poor people
In a most efficient way

We cannot lose the Middle East
So we'll bomb it till it's bare
And then I'll start a cobalt mine
And become a millionaire

We fight for oil and gas and pipeline rights
Iron and gold, it's true
Copper, cobalt, lithium,
Reconstruction contracts too
Profiteering corporations all the country through
Influence, prestige, hmm, oh yes, and freedom too

We fight for oil and gas and pipeline rights
Iron and gold, it's true
Copper, cobalt, lithium,
Reconstruction contracts too
Profiteering corporations all the country through
Influence, prestige, hmm, oh yes, and freedom too
Oh yes, and freedom too

There's one line I can't make out, and I can't find the lyrics transcribed anywhere else. Very sorry about that.

inviata da Mandy - 20/3/2025 - 20:16