Ain't Going to Vietnam: A Dirty Mean War and Nobody Gives a Damn
Leon Thomas turns free jazz into a protest song artform
It never ends, it never goes away, it’s ugly head rises again and again with every pointless death.
Drones fly inside Russia to spot-kill citizens on trains. Ukrainians in Kiev slumber in subway tunnels to avoid counterattacks. Syria is divided into warring factions aided by political powerbrokers. And Palestinians run from gunfire while awaiting promised food stocks.
And who the hell knows what is really going on in the Sudan, Congo (DRC) and Somalia.
According to Grok3: “there are numerous ongoing armed conflicts worldwide, with 56 state-based conflicts reported in 2024.”
War is a racket. War is a waste. War is a constant.
It’s an old story with the same outcome: dead people.
That’s why I admire those who call out for peace using their special gifts and platforms.
In 1969, a brilliant jazz and blues vocalist named Leon Thomas, released one of the more powerful protest songs against the Vietnam War, as it raged on and on.
“Damn Nam (Ain't Going To Vietnam)” is not on the radar of many rock ’n’ roll era listeners. Leon Thomas was a jazz artist.
There was not much crossover back then.
But it’s important to note the antiwar actions of alternative artists, not just the well-known songs of mainstream bands.
An Instrumental Voice
Jazz is a tremendous and versatile artform.
When your voice is your main instrument, it takes on another level of artistry.
Leon Thomas blended jazz, blues and African and Native American vocal traditions. He was a yodeler, a scat-style singer, a howler, a moaner and an American original.
Thomas sang in the style of free jazz: a non-conventional structure noted for improvisational freedom and intense emotions.
In the turmoil and outrage over social conditions in the 1960s, Thomas turned his voice into an urgent political message.
By embracing the unpredictability of free jazz, his vocal innovations and improvisations reflected the chaotic times to create songs of spontaneous cries.
It’s rare to find a vocalist with the power to turn musical phrases into proclamations for the struggle for justice and peace.
The integration of artforms, vocal gymnastics and spiritual roots makes Thomas’ music a standard of excellence that connects liberation movements to antiwar themes.
It takes the craft of writing and singing protest songs to a different place.
And it resonates far beyond its initial offering in the jazz genre.
Absurdity of Dirty Mean Wars
Wars are never fair, especially when it comes to who’s selected to go fight in them.
It’s also key to know the backdrop of many protest songs and the underlying reasons behind the strong emotions.
Here are a few statistics, provided by Grok3, that set the tone.
For Vietnam, draft representation among African-Americans was very suspect:
In 1967, African Americans comprised 11% of the U.S. population but 16.3% of all draftees, indicating a disproportionate draft rate.
Project 100,000 Impact: This program, which lowered draft eligibility standards, resulted in an estimated 40% of its 246,000 draftees being African American. Referred to as McNamara’s Morons, the Department of Defense recruited soldiers who would previously have been below military mental or medical standards.
Eligibility Disparities: Only 29% of African American draft registrants were deemed eligible for service in 1967, compared to 63% of White registrants, due to higher rates of medical or educational disqualifications. However, of those eligible, 64% of African Americans were drafted, compared to 31% of Whites, showing a clear bias in selection.
Combat Roles: African Americans were overrepresented in combat units, making up 23% of combat troops in Vietnam despite being 11% of the military overall.
For urban African-Americans, going to fight in Vietnam was absurd, when the domestic situation was deteriorating, especially in America’s large cities.
but I ain’t goin’ to Vietnam
’cause it’s a dirty mean war
and nobody seems to give a damn
As noted above, the number of African-Americans drafted was disproportional to the community at large. In contrast, White registrants received more deferments for college or marriage exemptions.
they got boys upon the frontline
and boys upon the backline too
they got so many weapons
what do they need from me and you
The cost of war or overseas conflicts never seems to make any sense to those from the streets. Only elites and the military industrial complex cash in on the war dead.
how much does it cost
to fly a man up to the moon
when I think of the hungry children
that I see every afternoon
“Damn Nam (Ain't Going To Vietnam)” expresses disregard for the establishment and its priorities. Spending enormous tax dollars for a foreign war and a misunderstood space race was crazy.
Social priorities are what people think about every day.
Coda
It’s been over 80 years since World War II.
This was the last war that spirited nations to come together for a just cause.
Ever since, most war skirmishes are based on power dynamics and resource extraction goals. These are wars manipulated by the few to remain the few.
With Russia, China and the Middle East all in a state of war flux, the warmongers are fanning the flames of military might to restock the arsenals of profit.
Will there be a draft selection for Generation Z?
It’s possible that drone technology will keep the draftee numbers low.
But I hope that they also reject the rationale for foreign conflicts and put their social consciousness to practice by resisting the build-up of the war machine.
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