“Save The Country” by The 5th Dimension
As a very important sentimental premise which should be revealed from the onset, the writer of “Save the Country” did so immediately in the aftermath of and in reaction to Robert F. Kennedy’s assassination.
This is not to be confused with the assassination of his older brother, President John F. Kennedy, some five years prior. Indeed that incident alone was traumatizing enough upon the American psyche. So perhaps we can go as far as to postulate that the emotion expressed in this tune was ultimately inspired by both killings, and then some.
For in this song, under the presumption, as inferred above, that the titular “country” would be the United States, what The 5th Dimension is basically calling for is something like mass repentance. This includes the “people” symbolically going “down to the glory river”, which we will interpret as a metaphor for getting baptized, even if the vocalist may not mean so literally.
And we really know such is the case based on the second passage, in which the goal of this activity is said to be to subdue the “devil”, i.e. traditional gospel-encouraged talk.
So even if inspired by the death of a politician, this song is not political in nature really, as opposed to being religious-minded.
“We Shall Overcome”
Also there is a “precious king” residing down at the river which, given the Christian undertone of this piece, would most likely be a reference to Jesus. To him, we all are “babes in the blinking sun”. And in unison, the people shall sing “We Shall Overcome” to his delight.
Now interesting to note is that “We Shall Overcome”, as you may already know, is traditionally identified as an African-American civil rights anthem. So yes, the vocalist can be speaking to the plight of the American people in general.
Or considering that this song was in fact written during the late 1960s, they can also be more specifically referring to the civil rights struggle. Indeed both JFK and RFK (the latter especially), have gone down in history as not only prominent politicians but also champions of civil rights.
Macrocosmically speaking, his movement could also be what The 5th Dimension is referring to as the ‘fury in their souls’. It is this anxiety, if you will, that is empowering them to take the trek down to the “glory river”.
“Study War No More”
And they also reveal about midway through that they’re not idealizing any type of conflict but rather to “study war no more”. That particular line is derived from another African-American spiritual, this one dating back to the 19th century, entitled “Down by the Riverside“.
But relatedly, the late 1960s were when the highly-controversial Vietnam War was in full swing. So it’s like the writer of this song, Laura Nyro, got a little bit of everything up in there.
Keep their Dream Alive
A bit later in the piece, the theory that we came up with earlier is verified. For the vocalist refers to “keep(ing) the dream of the two young brothers”. And we already know that said brothers would be JFK and RFK, who respectively at 46 and 42 years of age.
Neither one of them were particularly against the Vietnam War, though the latter apparently more so than the former. But from the American perspective they were still seen as freedom fighters nonetheless, as evidenced by the existence of this song.
Takeaway
So as far as the thesis sentiment of this track goes, most simply put it is idealizing a vision of peace in America which is manifested on different fronts, all things considered. For example, if realized Blacks would be treated better. Also the Vietnam War would end, as would the assassination of politicians.
But all of the above would be the aftereffects of the nation adopting a more moral, spiritually-based disposition altogether. In doing so they would “save the country” and the people therein. And again there’s nothing, shall we say practical about this aspiration. But this is a song from America’s free love era. And as you can see, there was a lot going on which had people dreaming of peace.
The 1968 Assassination of Robert Kennedy which inspired “Save the Country”
The United States senator Robert Francis Kennedy served as the 64th U.S Attorney General for four years before becoming a senator in January 1965. He served in the United States Naval Reserve for 2 years.
He played major roles under the government, some being his participation in the Berlin Crisis of 1961, his fight against organized crime and drug mafias, and his support of civil rights.
Three years after being elected president of the United States in 1960, John Kennedy was killed leaving his brother Robert Kennedy as a potential candidate for the presidential seat in 1964. Despite the push, Robert declined and instead ran for the U.S Senate of New York which he won in November 1964.
In 1968, Robert Kennedy decided to run as a presidential candidate. On June 5, 1968, after winning the South Dakota and California primaries, he gave a speech at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. After the speech, he used the exit of the hotel kitchen where he was shot by 24-year-old Palestinian Christian militant, Sirhan Bishara Sirhan.
Kennedy was brutally wounded and died about 26 hours later at the Good Samaritan Hospital on 6th June 1968. He was 42 years old.
Facts about the Song “Save the Country”
The composer of this song was the late Laura Nyro, an American songwriter, singer and pianist. She wrote the song by dint of inspiration from the assassination of the late former US President John. F. Kennedy.
Bones Howe owns the production credits to this song. He is an American record producer and recording engineer, who produced many hit records.
“Save the Country”, which falls in the Soul music category, was released in June 1970
The song is one of the tracks on The 5th Dimension’s “The Portrait” album which was recorded at Wally Heider Recording. It wasn’t a single release.
5th Dimension’s “Portrait”
Having briefly taken a look at the event that inspired the lyrics of 5th Dimension’s “Save the Country”, let us now look at the album in which the song appears.
“Portrait” is the name of the album in question. It is the group’s fifth album. “Portrait” was released by Bell Records in April 1970 after recording sessions that lasted between August 1969 and March 20, 1970. The album was produced by Dayton Burr Howe, otherwise known as Bones Howe.
The album struggled to make heads way on the musical scene at the time of its release. After three singles from the album failed to enter the American Pop Music’s Top 20 charts, the group decided to release a fourth single “One Less Bell to Answer”. Luckily for the group, the fourth single was a success. Its release paved the way for the album to gain waves, peaking at No. 20 on the US Billboard 200 Charts.
5th Dimension members who featured on the album include:
- Billy Davis Jr
- Florence LaRue
- Marilyn McCoo
- Lamonte McLemore
- Ron Townson
The album is among the first to be taped on a 16-track recorder.
In addition to “Save the Country”, other singles that appeared on “Portrait” include:
- “Puppet Man”
- “The Declaration”
- “On the Beach (In the Summertime)”
- “One Less Bell To Answer”
