BRING THEM HOME (IF YOU LOVE YOUR UNCLE SAM)

Pete Seeger's 1966 version

If you love your Uncle Sam,
Bring them home, bring them home.
Support our boys in Vietnam,
Bring them home, bring them home.

It'll make our generals sad, I know,
Bring them home, bring them home.
They want to tangle with the foe,
Bring them home, bring them home.

They want to test their weaponry,
Bring them home, bring them home.
But here is their big fallacy,
Bring them home, bring them home.

I may be right, I may be wrong,
Bring them home, bring them home.
But I got a right to sing this song,
Bring them home, bring them home.

There's one thing I must confess,
Bring them home, bring them home.
I'm not really a pacifist,
Bring them home, bring them home.

If an army invaded this land of mine,
Bring them home, bring them home.
You'd find me out on the firing line,
Bring them home, bring them home.

Even if they brought their planes to bomb,
Bring them home, bring them home.
Even if they brought helicopters and napalm,
Bring them home, bring them home.

Show those generals their fallacy:
Bring them home, bring them home.
They don't have the right weaponry,
Bring them home, bring them home.

For defense you need common sense,
Bring them home, bring them home.
They don't have the right armaments,
Bring them home, bring them home.

The world needs teachers, books and schools,
Bring them home, bring them home.
And learning a few universal rules,
Bring them home, bring them home.

So if you love your Uncle Same,
Bring them home, bring them home.
Support our boys in Vietnam,
Bring them home, bring them home.

Words and music by Pete Seeger, who composed it in 1966 during Vietnam war as an invitation to support the move for US troops withdrawal. The above lyrics refer to that 1966 original version by Pete Seeger. It was released on his 1971 Columbia album, Young Vs. Old.

Pete Seeger rerecorded this song in the Spring of 2003, with guests Billy Bragg, Ani DiFranco, and Steve Earle, to support anti-Iraqi war move. That recording was released that year on Seeds - The Songs Of Pete Seeger, Vol. III. Check out Pete Seeger's 2003 version (alternate lyrics).

Bruce Springsteen and The Seeger Sessions Band recorded this song and performed it during the The Seeger Sessions tour, debuting on 10 May 2006 at Palais Bercy, Paris, France. Check out Bruce's studio version (more details) and live 10 May 2006 version.

From Broadside #71, June 1966

"A woman told me, 'I'm praying every night, please bring my son home safe.'  I told her, 'Haven't you learned the lesson of the song WE SHALL OVERCOME?  There's no solution for you or your son or me and my son unless it's a solution for all of us.  It's got to be 'WE' or there's no solving the problem.'  Now I don't claim this song is as good as it should be.  But I was hoping for a song which would be good for a group of people to sing over and over again, and a frame in which new verses could be improvised, and the melody and harmony developed as the singers got with it.")