[1970]
Lyrics & music by Skeeter Davis
Album: It's Hard To Be A Woman

In 1970 Skeeter Davis aimed “When You Gonna Bring Our Soldiers Home” directly at president Nixon. Voicing a woman’s perspective, Skeeter declared, “Every mother has to worry about the son she loves, And every sweetheart has to worry too". Although Nixon did not think she should “protest” or “question” his policies, “I think I’ve got a right 'cause I just got word tonight, The Man I love was killed there yesterday, When you gonna bring our soldiers home?”. The following year, Arlene Harden’s “Congratulations, You Sure Made a Man Out of Him” was equally bitter and provided an even more frontal challenge to the South’s patriotic militarism. Unlike Lynn’s and Davis’ songs, in which the US soldiers had died, the character in this song had returned home profoundly impaired: “I watch him just sit by the window and silently... (Continues)