Four illustrated broadsheets. Three with words and music, to songs: 'Oh, Brother, did you weep?' by MacColl; 'Lament of the Soldier's Wife', 'words: Claudi Paley'; and 'Nam Bo', 'by an American'. The fourth with McColl's words to 'Yankee Doodle'.

Author: 
Folksingers for Freedom in Vietnam [Ewan MacColl; Claudia Paley; Karl Dallas; Gordon McCulloch; Audrey Seyfang; 'Catchpole'; English folk revival; sixties protest singers; Yankee Doodle]
Publication details: 
All four items 'FOLKSINGERS FOR FREEDOM IN VIETNAM/BROADSHEET KING 1967' [London].
£200.00
SKU: 8309

According to Karl Dallas (Morning Star, 16 November 2007) it was he who 'first mooted the idea' of an anti-Vietnam War 'campaign in the folk scene', with the 'singers' group' being formed by Dallas in conjunction with Ewan MacColl and Gordon McCulloch. The four items are excessively scarce survivals, with no copies of any of them appearing on COPAC. All are printed on one side of a leaf roughly 25 x 20 cm. Each leaf is differently coloured. The items are in fair condition, dogeared and with light creasing and chipping to extremities. One has a small grease stain at foot, not affecting the text. Item One (on grey paper, with illustration by Audrey Seyfang): 'Oh, Brother, did you weep? | words and music by Ewan MacColl'. Four verses, the first reading: 'Disc of sun in the belching smoke, | Blazing huts where children choke, | Burning flesh and blackened blood, | Charred and blistered like smould'ring wood.' Item Two (on green paper, with illustration by Audrey Seyfang): 'Lament of the Soldier's Wife | words: Claudi Paley | tune: trad. American'. Eight verses, the first reading: 'My love, I know that you must go, | Across the distant sea, | To fight a war that we never can win, | In a land I never shall see, | In a land I never shall see.' Item Three (on pink paper, with illustration by 'Catchpole'): 'Nam Bo | by an American'. Six verses, the first reading: ' 'Twas in the district of Nam Bo, there stood a country town | One day the farmers came home from plowing of the ground, | Their houses lay in ruins, no people did they spy, | But by the body of a child, they heard a woman cry.' Item Four (on grey paper, with illustration by 'Catchpole'): 'YANKEE DOODLE | words: Ewan MacColl'. Nine verses, the first reading '1. Yankee Doodle came to town, | H-bombs in his pocket, | Says, "Chum, if you don't toe the line: | I'll blast you with a rocket!" | Chorus: YANKEE DOODLE, UNCLE SAM, | BATMAN, ALSO SUPERMAN, | KNOWN FROM HERE TO VIET-NAM | AS YANKEE DOODLE DANDY.' Concludes, with reference to the British prime minister of the time, 'And as he kills, dear Mr. Wilson | Murmurs little speeches.' Not recorded on COPAC or WorldCat.