Here's my latest tune: Vietnam Blues. I didn't go to Vietnam but I lost classmates to it.

https://soundcloud.com/user-770148857/vietnam-blues


519:Bass, Electric, Pop HalfNotes Ev 120
692:Guitar, Acoustic, Strumming AcRockBright Ev 120 (A:sync)
543:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm Dreamy Ev 120
RealDrums [in style:NashvilleEven8^5-a:Snare, HiHat , b:Snare, Ride

Vocal by Tom Bedlam of fiverr

Lyrics:

High school was done, we had fun each day
Then I was called, and hauled a world away
It's no picnic, waiting for Charlie to show
And all I ever wanted was to make you know

Christopher medal hanging from my neck
Fear of the jungle made me a living wreck
Watching the tracers, with their seeking glow
And all I ever wanted was to make you know

Days and nights blend into a messy blur
When it gets hot my words begin to slur
"Say it again!" the radio lights aglow
And all I ever wanted was to make you know

High school was done, we had fun each day
Your hair was long, a strand had gone astray
I reached to fix it, tuck it past your ear
Tried to whisper, my voice was drowned by fear

Hope you are doing OK these days with Vietnam in your personal history...

I narrowly missed the draft but I saw what the war did to friends of mine...

It really deeply affected our whole generation.

Thanks for putting some words into music for us.

'Lest we forget'

Hi Chris,

Thanks for writing. I didn't go to Vietnam, I was in school and then my lottery number was lucky. But I lost classmates. On Memorial Day, my high school listed on facebook the people we lost in Vietnam. It was the memory of those guys that inspired the song. Hope I treated the subject with proper respect.

Nice melody and arrangement, and Tom did a fine job for you on the vocal. Good writing, putting those feelings and fears into words.

I like what you did at the end, very effective, but the fade could have been a bit longer IMHO.

Good song!

TuneMonger,

Great presentation on a very tough topic. An excellent lyric as well.

The vocal by Tom was just right and a good crisp mix to top it off.

Excellent all around.

Bob

Dave, I agree with you about the fade. I will make that change after I see what other suggestions the song gets. Thanks.

Bob Dean, thanks for your kind words.

"All I ever wanted is to make you know." SO well written, and produced, TuneMonger. Man, you are hitting home with this home run song. I was #262 in the '69 lottery, but many of my friends were not so lucky. I could talk a lot about it, but should stay on topic here. You're really good at writing melody, and this one is another song that urges one to sing along. Excellent lyrics, as always.

TM,

A poignant write.

Good BAND and arrangement. Good mix.

Very well done.

fj

Being intimately familiar and involved with your subject matter, even though you did not participate, you expressed it with "respect".

A sincere write on a sometimes divisive topic.
I have written (2) songs on the subject but they are not BIAB related.
I wouldn't draw attention to them anyway for a couple of reasons.

I'll echo all other comments.
Well done....

I narrowly missed the draft, by about a month, I was in Navy boot camp when I got draft papers in the mail, I did end up off the coast of Da Nang on an Aircraft Carrier, but I'll never forget that time in life. MY dad was a disabled vet, and had to have open heart surgery in Long Beach, and I vividly remember seeing wounded soldiers lying on gurneys in the hallways of the hospital, because of a shortage of beds.
Wonderful song, well thought out and simple!!

Good song. I remember the days of guys dreading that draft lottery and the next day in school you could look at guys and tell where their number stood in the line. Some were lucky and some were not. One heck of a high school graduation party for some.

I was the first generation who didn't have a draft. So what did I do???? Yep, I signed up to the Marines and joined. I was rather fortunate. I'm considered a Vietnam era Vet, but Nam was shutting down and the middle east was just starting to rumble. So I was in the service in between the jungle and the sand box.

I don't regret what I did because it certainly changed the direction I was headed. I didn't enjoy the time in the corps not one bit..... but it let me have the time to get my head on straight and figure a few things out.

I was a "Vietnam Era" vet and fortunately wasn't called upon to kill. I was busy liberating German gasthouses ( pubs ) while Danny Campo was liberating Biloxi, MS.

TuneMonger:

Really well put together tune—all the elements come together really well. Like the write a lot and Tom’s vocal is engaging. And that slow down ending was a really nice touch. A sad song, but a good one. Well done!

All my best,

Deej

Nice job on an important subject.

moto

Excellent tune TM. I grew up 60 miles north from the US border and felt very fortunate not to have been put through draft. Had one friend go across the border and joined the marines and did not make it home.

Loved the song. Well done

Powerful write. One that sticks with you. And one that will bring back memories to many who listen.

Tom delivered your song well and your mix sparkles in the good way.
The soundstage is open, airy and has a great live feel.

Excellent!

J&B

PS: I drew 307 in 1969 while in grad school - for the uninitiated a very "safe" number.
Years earlier my good friend left and did not come home.

Oh man, TuneMonger, that song brings up memories of that time...

I lived near Francfort then and played in a soul band. We were lucky to havea an incredibly nice and unbelievably talented young black GI who was stationed on Rhein-Main as our singer - actualy he was the band, we were just young boys freezing with respect when he sang songs like 'Sittin' On Dock of The Bay'.

And I will never forget those proud feelings I had when he asked me to join him singing Sam & Dave songs like 'You Got Me Humming' and 'You Don't Know Wahat You Mean To Me'..

Aside from playing togoether he often visited me at home, and told me how afraid he was that he might be sent to Viet Nam.

And on one day he was. I have never heard of him ever since - all I could do was hoping that he'd get out of that hell. Normally I'm not so much into memories but he has been in my heart ever since. And your song really made my heart sink again.

Very moving indeed. And very well done.

Take care, everybody,

Stefan

Swampy ground to write upon but your take on it was nice. Comparisons of lifestyles, different fears and, i some ways, different foes.
The break down for the final section was effective...probably would've been drenched in strings Bobby Goldboro style if it were in 69. I'm glad you were even handed with your arrangement.

Thanks to everyone who commented on Vietnam Blues. It was interesting to read how the war affected your lives. I wasn't expecting to draw so much conversation on the subject, but I guess it should come as no surprise. So many of us were affected by it, indirectly or otherwise. Stefan's story was particularly compelling. Not to know someone's fate is a tough one. Again, thanks to all who shared their stories.

Well...if you're genuinely interested?
Go here....type in his full name.

https://www.vvmf.org/Wall-of-Faces/

This site has been upgraded quite a bit since my last visit.

Tunemonger....no hijack intended.

Carry on....

A very sad and delicate touch to a subject that could cause many bad memories to resurface. I lost my best friend in Nam as well as many high school classmates. My hometown had the highest casualties per capita than anywhere else in the US. A very sad time in our history.

But back on the song it was done with respect. I could feel the pain in the vocals. Super mix.

PS - I never was in the service as I was taking shots for asthma and allergies from 1964 to 1970. 1Y then finally 4F.

Excellent lyric writing. You certainly captured that time well. I like the melody. It's not one you would expect to go with the words, but it works.

Nice tune. Very clear vocal recording. Good lyrics. I like the change up on the last stanza. Good one.

'Tunemonger'...

Your lyrics are scenically vivid, the music is bittersweet, and your vocalist has a youthful enough voice to suggest an innocence and idealism that could have been severely tested by 'the war'. The feel of the song makes it sound as though it could have been produced during the Vietnam era, not necessarily as an out-and-out protest, but more like a stop, look, and listen kind of experience. The instrumental silence after the second verse was as dramatic as it was unexpected. This song will linger in my mind and heart for awhile.

- bluage -

Wow, bluage, you deserve some kind of special achievement for your lengthy critiques. Thanks so very much, it's nice that someone points out all the things one does to try to bring a song to life. Kudos.

This is a great write and a great tribute.

It hits home on the terror or war, and he overwhelming demands placed on such very young and innocent people.

Well done!! I like the music and lyrics, but it sounds like the vocal recording has a lot of ambient leak into it........kind of gives it a vibe of that era though!! My brother's number was about to come up when they stopped the draft.......we were relieved!! What a terrible war! Take care. Greg

Hi TuneMonger,

I read all post on your song. Impressing what memories it brought up on that terrible time.
When it all started I lived on Curaçao (A Dutch island in the Carabians) in the 60's. US warships and aircraftcarriers always came visiting us on their way home from Vietnam. And they also had a lot of soldiers aboard that fought overthere.

It was good practise to invite on of them for a day, to give him a 'holi-day'. The soldier we invited showed me his wound. He narrowly survived a sniper attack. I was 10 years old and very impressed by that story. That war became real for me then. But of course in no way comparable with what a lot of you described here, and what was writen in your so good lyrics, TuneMonger!

And I want to share Daves'(Bluage) excellent post on your very good song. It reflects exactly what I think of it too!
There is only one tiny thing: In a way I missed a 'real' chorus. What made you decide not to get this in?

Best regards,
Hans

Oh no, Greg, after the song passed muster with the astute ears of fj and rayc, I figured I was home free. But now you tell me the vocal has a lot of ambient leak. I went back and listened to the dry stem solo and didn't hear anything, so I am going to guess the problem is in the way I processed the vocal. And to be honest I threw my hands up in the air and decided it would take somebody with better mixing skills than mine to figure out the problem. So I'm in a bit of a limbo about it. I may give it to a pro to mix. Thanks for pointing out a problem, I appreciate it and would always rather know the truth. I'm curious, though, if anyone else notices the same problem??

Hi Hans,

I did think about the fact that this song was simply the same verse for four verses, with no chorus. I finally decided it stood on its own well enough, and didn't need a chorus. I thought it was strong enough to break a rule. I might be wrong about that and you could easily be right. I'm still pretty happy with it, I just need to figure out how to deal with Greg's observation of it having a noise problem with the vocal track. Your story was interesting, I appreciate that you shared it with everyone. It seems people all over the world were affected by the Vietnam War. Thanks again.

Hi TuneMonger,

Thanks for your explanation about the build up of the song.
And I think you are right on it.
The message can be watered down by a chorus. It can distract from the message itself.

Hans

This sounds great TuneMonger. I really enjoyed this. Nice work!

Nice work, evocative and well produced.

Deserving of all the praise.

Peter