| "Khe Sanh" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Cold Chisel | ||||
| from the album Cold Chisel | ||||
| Released | May 1978 | |||
| Format | 7" vinyl | |||
| Recorded | 1978 | |||
| Genre | Pub rock | |||
| Length | 4:09 | |||
| Label | WEA | |||
| Writer(s) | Don Walker | |||
| Producer | Peter Walker | |||
| Cold Chisel singles chronology | ||||
|
||||
"Khe Sanh" is an Australian song, released as a 45 rpm single in May 1978, and named after the Battle of Khe Sanh (1968) during the Vietnam War. The song, performed by Cold Chisel, having been written by pianist Don Walker and featuring the vocals of Jimmy Barnes, is about an Australian Vietnam veteran dealing with his return to civilian life. According to Toby Creswell's liner notes for the band's 1991 compilation album Chisel, the song is also a story of restless youth.
Contents |
The mood of the song is typified by its first verse:
The remaining verses describe the singer's aimless drifting after his return to Australia: womanising, post traumatic stress disorder, addiction to speed and Novocaine, getting work on oil rigs and flying helicopters. He has travelled the world: "I've been back to South East Asia but the answer sure ain't there". The final refrain is "Well the last plane out of Sydney's almost gone", as the singer heads to Hong Kong for casual sex.
Don Walker has said the song was inspired by a number of people, including, "the guy from the next farm," who came back from Vietnam, "severely changed for the worst," and Adelaide guitarist Rick Morris. The first draft was written in Sweethearts Cafe in Kings Cross, New South Wales.[1]
"Khe Sanh" is one of the most popular songs ever recorded by an Australian act and one generally seen as a resonant symbol of the Australian culture. The record reached number four in the band's home town of Adelaide but peaked on the national sales charts at number 41.[2] In August 1978, censors gave it an A Classification, meaning that it was "not suitable for airplay", because of sex and drug references, such as the lines: "their legs were often open, but their minds were always closed".[3] Barnes later commented "Every DJ in the country begged us to release "Khe Sanh" as a single. Then they banned it two weeks later. They had to ban something once a week to keep the Catholic Church happy."[4] A single station in Adelaide defied this censorship, and was the instigator of the song's popularity.
In 2001, members of APRA, the Australasian music industry's peak body, put "Khe Sanh" at number eight in a poll of the all-time best Australian songs.[5] It still receives strong airplay on Australian radio stations with a "classic rock" format.[6]
In August 2011, "Khe Sanh" re-entered the ARIA Singles Chart at #40, beating their previous peak position by one spot.[7]
Two versions of "Khe Sanh" were released by Cold Chisel. The first featured on the band's 1978 debut self-titled album. A second version was included on the international version of the 1980 album East.[4] The newer version overlaid a new keyboard track over Ian Moss's slide guitar break and featured a slightly different vocal reading from Barnes. This second version was also the version of "Khe Sanh" featured on the original release of the Chisel album and has since become perhaps the better known rendition.
A notable cover of the song was released in 2007 by Australian singer/songwriter Paul Kelly. This rendering was in a stripped down bluegrass/country style, featuring largely spoken lyrics.[8] It was released on the tribute album Standing on the Outside
Adam Brand includes the chorus of "Khe Sanh" at the very end of his single "Comin' From/Khe Sanh" from his fifth album Blame It On Eve.[9]
John Schumann covered "Khe Sanh" on his 2008 album Behind the Lines.[10] As a member of folk-rock band Redgum, Schumann wrote and sang another hit song about Australians in Vietnam: "I was only 19", released in 1983.
The Battle of Khe Sanh was fought between US Marines with elements of the South Vietnamese ARVN, and the North Vietnamese Army. The only Australian personnel to be directly involved in the siege were the crews of Canberra bombers operated by 2 Squadron, Royal Australian Air Force, who flew close air support missions in the area.
"Sanh" is often misspelled (even, at times, on official album covers and sleeve notes) as "Sahn".[6]
During the Australian cricket team's tour of the Caribbean in 1995, the players accorded "Khe Sanh" the status of an unofficial team song and sang it frequently.
Khe Sanh has also been mentioned in another frequently-misinterpreted song. Bruce Springsteen's 1984 hit "Born in the USA" includes the sentence: "Had a brother at Khe Sanh". Springsteen pronounces it to rhyme with "barn" rather than with "man", as the Cold Chisel version does.
The line in the song that mentions the Silver City is a reference to the corrugated metal army barracks in Kapooka.
A video was made to promote the single, featuring the band miming to the song, directed by Paul Drane.[11] It was filmed in a movie studio in Melbourne.[12]
|
||||||||||||||||||||