(B5) Jake’s Song (Bill McKenna)

US military / veteran songs: Bill McKenna served with the marines in Vietnam, and returned to the US disabled. He became a regular performer at the Skidmore Freedom Fest. He died in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1995. The title on the front cover, “ San Francisco“, referred to the US military postal system, either known as APO (Army Post Office) or FPO (Fleet Post Office). The San Francisco gateway dealt with overseas mail to Vietnam. He released this Vietnam-themed LP in the rock-pop genre in 1986, in New Smyrna Beach, Florida. The title track, “Vietnam: Still Part of Who I Am“, looked at a Vietnam veteran’s attempt to find his place in society - which had labelled Vietnam a failure and a mistake. It can be viewed as part of a 1980s, Reagan-era trend of nationalism, or attempt to overcome the “Vietnam Syndrome“. This song also referenced the My Lai massacre. The track “Jake’s Song“ (FPOSF # 1102108) looked at the perspective of two soldiers held captive in Vietnam as prisoners of war (.). The narrator explained that his and Jake’s plane went down in the jungle, which they survived. However, they ended up “caught and beaten, locked in this goddamn cage“. The captors separated the soldiers, and the narrator wondered what happened to Jake, while he started to lose hope. It concluded with the soldier wishing he would die. “Lost in action, me and you, downed in the jungle / But we made it through, but I can’t go on Jake / I can’t go on, don’t wanna be strong Jake, I can’t... / Caught and beaten, locked in this goddamn cage / Don’t know what I’ve eaten, but I do know Charlie’s rage... / Don’t know what I’m doing, I can’t remember why / Now where did they put you, god Jake, did you die? / I can’t go on Jake, I can’t go on, don’t wanna be strong Jake / I can’t go on, Jake, maybe I’ll just die“