My Vietnam
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"My Vietnam" is a song by American singer P!nk. It is the last track from her second album M!ssundaztood, and is known for its chilling and creepy sound effects.
[edit] Lyrics
The song tells tells the story about P!nk's childhood. She depicts her father as a proud soldier (title, "My Vietnam"), while her mother as a lunatic who would try to push her buttons and bring her down. The song is accompanied with a disjointed marching beat, the unrythmic pluckings of diatonic notes (a cliched leitmotif found in Vietnam War-era rock, like in "The End") and ends with a Hendrix-like rift of The Star Spangled Banner. P!nk's "Vietnam" can be described as the turmoil she experienced growing up, or the fact that she was living the Vietnam War in shouldering the post-war hidden injuries carried by her father.
[edit] Criticism
"My Vietnam" also was released shortly after the 9/11 attacks, and hit a nerve amongst some listeners. For some critics the linking of her own personal problems to the Vietnam War in the song was regarded as crass and indulgent. Others found the civic-minded lyrics and the rifted anthem resonated with a fleeting sense of patriotism and insecurity.
This song was never released as a single by P!nk, but it is considered one of the more personal and confessional songs on her second album.
