reyes
Ikon Class
- Joined
- Apr 27, 2011
- Location
- Brooklyn NY, US
Looking for some info on my copy of The Barons on Brownfield, found a website dedicated to anti war protest songs, and found out that the title song Don't Burn It is in reference on burning draft cards, and his story on how someone was recruited for flunking school and going to war.
It also shed a light on most of the song lyrics, i tried to complete them.
Wonder how many other bands from the era sang about their experiences on war, or how many got disbanded because members got drafted? For example I think Danny Parra from Danny and the Counts (Coronado) got drafted.
Taken from the web page:
Burning draft cards often took place at the early anti-war demonstrations. President Johnson subsequently prohibited the destruction of draft cards in an amendment to the Universal Military Training and Service Act in August 1965. The arrest of David O’Brien in 1966 for burning his draft card led to a Supreme Court Case on the First Amendment (see David Paul O’Brien v. USA, US Court of Appeals).
Garage rock band the Barons offered their take on the draft. The narrator received a draft card that said: Don't Burn It The song looked at the choice between studying (to avoid the draft), fighting, or protesting:
The Barons - Don't Burn It
"You sit there contemplating,
Worrying about my generation
trying to keep us from our occupations*
Save us from annihilation
leave us alone is not your worry
your leaving our lives in too big of a hurry
Well people take us for nothing but fools...
We either fight or go to school,
I go to school and I still can't learn
and then I get a little card that says don't burn,
Go to the draft board one fine day
Sergeant says "boy you're 1-A"
So here I sit,
With blood in my eyes,
Bullets flying around like flies
while i am here can't realize
then I get another surprise,
my folks don't even let me smoke, now they send me cigarrettes"
(Scream and SOLO!!!!)
So you sit there contemplating,
worrying about my generation,
tell your boys better go to school, so they won't wind up being a fool,
Study hard and really learn,
So they don't get a card,
That says Don't Burn!"
Would this make the baddest war protest song? is not all love and peace hippie, it takes another perspective for sure.....
It also shed a light on most of the song lyrics, i tried to complete them.
Wonder how many other bands from the era sang about their experiences on war, or how many got disbanded because members got drafted? For example I think Danny Parra from Danny and the Counts (Coronado) got drafted.
Taken from the web page:
Burning draft cards often took place at the early anti-war demonstrations. President Johnson subsequently prohibited the destruction of draft cards in an amendment to the Universal Military Training and Service Act in August 1965. The arrest of David O’Brien in 1966 for burning his draft card led to a Supreme Court Case on the First Amendment (see David Paul O’Brien v. USA, US Court of Appeals).
Garage rock band the Barons offered their take on the draft. The narrator received a draft card that said: Don't Burn It The song looked at the choice between studying (to avoid the draft), fighting, or protesting:
The Barons - Don't Burn It
"You sit there contemplating,
Worrying about my generation
trying to keep us from our occupations*
Save us from annihilation
leave us alone is not your worry
your leaving our lives in too big of a hurry
Well people take us for nothing but fools...
We either fight or go to school,
I go to school and I still can't learn
and then I get a little card that says don't burn,
Go to the draft board one fine day
Sergeant says "boy you're 1-A"
So here I sit,
With blood in my eyes,
Bullets flying around like flies
while i am here can't realize
then I get another surprise,
my folks don't even let me smoke, now they send me cigarrettes"
(Scream and SOLO!!!!)
So you sit there contemplating,
worrying about my generation,
tell your boys better go to school, so they won't wind up being a fool,
Study hard and really learn,
So they don't get a card,
That says Don't Burn!"
Would this make the baddest war protest song? is not all love and peace hippie, it takes another perspective for sure.....