Joan Baez
Saigon Bride
Joan Baez has released over 30 albums and recorded songs in six different languages. She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2017.
'Saigon Bride' tells the story of a soldier leaving his bride behind as he goes to war. The lyrics to the song were taken from a poem by Nina Duschek, who Baez had never met. The track was featured on Baez's 1967 album, Joan, which peaked at number 38 on the Pop Charts.
Farewell my wistful Saigon bride I'm going out to stem the tide A tide that never saw the seas It flows through jungles, round the trees Some say it's yellow, some say red It will not matter when we're dead How many dead men will it take To build a dike that will not break? How many children must we kill Before we make the waves stand still? Though miracles come high today We have the wherewithal to pay It takes them off the streets you know To places they would never go alone It gives them useful trades The lucky boys are even paid Men die to build their Pharoah's tombs And still and still the teeming wombs How many men to conquer Mars How many dead to reach the stars? Farewell my wistful Saigon bride I'm going out to stem the tide A tide that never saw the seas It flows through jungles, round the trees Some say it's yellow, some say red It will not matter when we're dead