We gotta get out of this place : the soundtrack of the Vietnam War /
Doug Bradley and Craig Werner.
- Amherst : University of Massachusetts Press, (c)2015.
- 1 online resource (170 pages)
- Culture, Politics, and the Cold War .
Includes bibliographical references.
Introduction: The Vietnam veterans' national anthem -- "Goodbye my sweetheart, hello Vietnam" : the soundscape takes shape -- "Bad moon rising" : the soundtracks of LBJ's war -- "I-feel-like-I'm-fixin'-to-die" : protest, pot, black power, and the (psychedelic) sound of Nixon's war -- "Chain of fools" : radios, guitars, eight tracks (and silence in the field) -- "What's going on" : music and the long road home.
"For a Kentucky rifleman who spent his tour trudging through Vietnam's Central Highlands, it was Nancy Sinatra's 'These Boots Are Made for Walkin'.' For a 'tunnel rat' who blew smoke into the Viet Cong's underground tunnels, it was Jimi Hendrix's 'Purple Haze.' For a black marine distraught over the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., it was Aretha Franklin's 'Chain of Fools.' And for countless other Vietnam vets, it was 'I Feel Like I'm Fixin' to Die,' 'Who'll Stop the Rain,' or the song that gives this book its title. In We Gotta Get Out of This Place, Doug Bradley and Craig Werner place popular music at the heart of the American experience in Vietnam. They explore how and why U.S. troops turned to music as a way of connecting to each other and the World back home and of coping with the complexities of the war they had been sent to fight. They also demonstrate that music was important for every group of Vietnam veterans --
Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Music and the war. Popular music--History--Social aspects--United States--20th century. Popular music--History and criticism.--United States--1961-1970 Popular music--History and criticism--1971-1980.