| "Ballad of the Green Berets" | |
|---|---|
| Single by Staff Sgt. Barry Sadler | |
| from the album Ballads of the Green Berets | |
| Released | 1966 |
| Genre | Patriotic |
| Length | 2:27 |
| Label | RCA Victor |
| Writer(s) | Robin Moore, Staff Sgt. Barry Sadler |
"The Ballad Of The Green Berets" is a patriotic song in the ballad style about the Green Berets, an elite special force in the U.S. Army. It is one of the very few songs of the 1960s to cast the military in a positive light, yet it became a major hit, reaching No. 1 on the Billboard charts for five weeks in 1966. It was also a crossover smash, reaching No. 1 on Billboard's Easy Listening chart and No. 2 on Billboard's Country survey.
The song was written by Robin Moore and Staff Sgt. Barry Sadler, while the latter was recuperating from a leg wound suffered as a medic in the Vietnam War. Moore also wrote a non-fiction book, The Green Berets, about the force. Lyrics include:
"Back at home a young wife waits/ Her Green Beret has met his fate/ He has died for those oppressed/ Leaving her this last request
Put silver wings on my son's chest/ Make him one of America's best/ He'll be a man they'll test one day/ Have him win the Green Beret"
The lyrics were written in honor of Green Beret James Gabriel, Jr., the first Native Hawaiian who died in Vietnam, who was executed by the Viet Cong while on a training mission on April 8, 1962.[1] One verse was written in honor of Gabriel, but it never made it into the final version. See Sadler's book I'm a Lucky One (Macmillan 1967, pp. 80-81).
Sadler debuted the song on television on January 30, 1966 on The Ed Sullivan Show.
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The song was the No. 1 hit in the U.S. for five weeks in 1966, and was the No. 21 song of 1960s, despite the later unpopularity of the Vietnam War and the competing "California Dreaming", sharply dividing the popular music market. It has sold over nine million singles and albums and was the top single of a year in which the British Invasion, led by the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, continued to dominate the U.S. charts. The Beatles' top hit was We Can Work It Out (#16), while the Stones' top hit was Paint It, Black (#21). See Billboard charts.
It is currently used as one of the four primary marching tunes of the Fightin' Texas Aggie Band.
The song is heard in a choral rendition by Ken Darby in the 1968 John Wayne film, The Green Berets, based on Moore's book. The score of the movie was never released as an album until Film Score Monthly released it in 2005. A film tie-in featuring artwork from the film and a cover version by Ennio Morricone was released in Europe, though the other tracks on the album were soundtracks from A Fistful of Dollars and For a Few Dollars More.
The song appears in the films More American Graffiti and Canadian Bacon. It can be heard in the gun show scene from the 2002 film Showtime, and in the film Jesus' Son, in a scene that features a hitch-hiking Jack Black.
Many American cover versions of the song appeared recorded by artists ranging from Kate Smith and Duane Eddy to unknown artists singing on various drugstore records.
The punk band The F.U's performed a cover of the song, featured on the album This Is Boston, Not L.A.
Many cover versions are in different languages rewritten to reference local units; these include:
| Preceded by "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" by Nancy Sinatra |
Billboard Hot 100 number one single March 5, 1966 (five weeks) |
Succeeded by "(You're My) Soul and Inspiration" by The Righteous Brothers |
| Preceded by "Crying Time" by Ray Charles |
Billboard Easy Listening Singles number-one single (SSgt Barry Sandler version) March 5, 1966 (5 weeks) |
Succeeded by "I Want to Go with You" by Eddy Arnold |