| "Hello Vietnam" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Johnnie Wright | ||||
| from the album Hello Vietnam | ||||
| B-side | "Mexico City" | |||
| Released | 1965 | |||
| Genre | Country | |||
| Label | Decca | |||
| Writer(s) | Tom T. Hall | |||
| Producer | Owen Bradley | |||
| Johnnie Wright singles chronology | ||||
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"Hello Vietnam" is the title of a song written by Tom T. Hall and recorded by American country music singer Johnnie Wright. It spent twenty weeks on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles chart with three weeks at number one. The single, with backing vocals from Wright's wife, Kitty Wells, was Wright's most successful release on the U.S. country music chart as a solo singer. His singing partner from Johnnie and Jack, Jack Anglin, was killed in a car accident in March 1963.
Somewhat unusual for this song's success was the fact that the song openly (and uncharacteristically) supported the Vietnam War effort, as the song's spoken third verse by Wright indicated:
| “ | I hope someday the world will learn, that fires we don't put out will bigger burn. We must save freedom now at any cost...or someday our own freedom will be lost. | ” |
Wright's popularity of the song came at a time when war protest songs dominated pop music charts and when public support for the war eroded.[1] The song was used as the opening theme in the film Full Metal Jacket.
| Chart (1965) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles | 1 |
| Preceded by "Behind the Tear" by Sonny James |
Billboard Hot Country Singles number-one single October 23-November 6, 1965 |
Succeeded by "Behind the Tear" by Sonny James |