I Should Be Proud

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"I Should Be Proud" is a 1970 protest song written by Henry Cosby, Pam Sawyer and Joe Hinton and recorded by Motown girl group Martha and the Vandellas. Though not a big hit (peaking at #80 pop and #45 R&B), the song was noted for being the first released Motown protest song (released in February of the year) just months before the releases of Edwin Starr's "War" and The Temptations' "Ball of Confusion". The song had the narrator talk of how she was devastated on hearing the news that her loved one, who was fighting in the Vietnam War, was shot and killed in action. Instead of being proud that her loved one "fought for her" as the narrator suggested people around her was claiming, all she wanted was him and not his honors for fighting the war exclaiming that the man, disguised as "Private Johnny C. Miller" was "fightin' for the evils of society". Lead singer Martha Reeves took the song personally recounting that one of her brothers had died in a Vietnam War-related incident. It was the first release off the Vandellas' Natural Resources.