Hello Vietnam
| "Hello Vietnam" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Johnnie Wright | ||||
| from the album Hello Vietnam | ||||
| B-side | "Mexico City" | |||
| Released | 1965 | |||
| Genre | Country | |||
| Label | Decca | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Tom T. Hall | |||
| Producer(s) | Owen Bradley | |||
| Johnnie Wright singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Hello Vietnam" is the title of a song written by Tom T. Hall and recorded by American country music singer Johnnie Wright.[1] "Hello Vietnam" spent twenty weeks on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles chart with three weeks at number one. The single, with backing vocals from Wright's wife, Kitty Wells, was Wright's most successful release on the U.S. country music chart as a solo singer.
Content
Somewhat unusual for this song's success was the fact that the song openly, and uncharacteristically of the anti-war songs of the time, supported the Vietnam War effort, as the song's spoken third verse by Wright indicated:
I hope and pray someday the world will learn, that fires we don't put out will bigger burn. We must save freedom now at any cost ... or someday our own freedom will be lost.
Wright's popularity of the song came at a time when war protest songs dominated pop music charts and when public support for the war eroded.[2] The song was used as the opening theme in the film Full Metal Jacket.
Chart performance
| Chart (1965) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles | 1 |
References
- ^ http://www.rebeatmag.com/it-was-50-years-ago-today-hello-vietnam-by-johnny-wright/
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944–2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 398.
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