“Still In Saigon” by The Charlie Daniels Band

“Still in Saigon” was released in the early 1980s, an era in American music history where for whatever reason a number of artists decided to tackle the issue of the Vietnam War vets. Said conflict officially ended in 1975, and, even by then, most foreign, i.e. American troops had already pulled out. 

For instance, the character this song is centered on, given its time of release and the fact that he’s been back for “10 years”, would have come home during the early 1970s. But it seems that it took the American public some years to fully get a grip on how the experience psychologically impacted these vets. 

“Still in Saigon”

And the most widely-recognized malady associated with this event is what we call post-traumatic stress disorder or PTSD, which most simply explained would manifest in the soldiers’ inability to escape the traumatizing memories of the war. And such is what the title of this song alludes to, i.e. the subject’s ‘mind still being in Saigon’.

The story commences by introducing said individual as someone who is not a soldier at heart. Rather by the looks of things, he was socialized in an environment whereas if duty called, then it was his patriotic obligation to heed it. But that said, it also appears that he was drafted.  However, he did have the opportunity to dodge it one way or another. But still he went. 

In all, he ended up spending a little over a year in Vietnam. And whereas he doesn’t get too detailed in recounting the experience, it is obvious that from his perspective that it was akin to living hell. And upon returning home yes, he was evidently suffering from PTSD. For instance, now he spends all of his time by himself. And it also seems that he is concerned with enemy soldiers or some type of other assailant attacking him at any given second, even though he’s no longer in the war zone.

But part of his present suffering is also attributable to how people relate to him. For instance remember, being a soldier is an occupation he never idealized to begin with. Yet his brother is referring to him as “a killer” and his dad “a vet”. Or viewed alternatively, what he hates about himself is rather what they exalt. And their mentality would be indicative of the type of environment he was raised in, as noted earlier.

Meanwhile, the society at large is rather asserting that he’s incurably sick. And yes, it appears that there is no actual cure for PTSD, like a person can’t erase their own memories. But more to the point is this idea of him, as a vet, being demonized.  Indeed it is also well-known that veterans of the Vietnam War were sorta treated like crap upon returning stateside, as the citizenry was largely against America’s participation in the conflict. 

So on one hand it’s like you have people congratulating the subject for being “a killer”. And on the other, he’s being dissing for it. However, it was never in his heart to go to Vietnam in the first.  So that’s why he was compelled to begin the song by regretting, most simply put, not running away from enlistment when he had the chance. So it’s like so much for patriotism.

The third verse reveals that it is during rainy days in the summer that the PTSD hits him the worst. Such is understandable considering that Vietnam is a tropical environment. And it is at these times that he really feels like he’s back there in “the jungle”.

But it isn’t something he can talk about with others, as he’s “ashamed” of it all. And in that regard, we’ll presume that what he’s ashamed of isn’t the PTSD itself but rather what he was a party of in the war.

So the song ultimately concludes pretty much where it began. The vocalist understands these memories and flashbacks, i.e. the PTSD, are some things which “will be forever in (his) head”.

Facts about “Still in Saigon”

Dan Daley composed this song in May 1982.

The American songwriter and record producer John Patrick Boylan II is the one to which the production credits of this song are credited to.

“Still in Saigon” belongs to three genres:

• Hard Rock
• Blues Rock
• Southern Rock

Belonging to the label “Epic”, the song was released on March 15, 1982.

“Windows” was the album name in which “Still in Saigon” was featured in. It was the twelfth album of The Charlie Daniels Band. “Still in Saigon” was released as a single.

The Charlie Daniels Band’s “Windows” Album

“Windows” is the ninth studio album for the Charlie Daniel’s Band and the twelfth studio album released by Charlie Daniels. The album was recorded at Woodland Studios, Nashville and produced by John Boylan. “Windows” was issued on March 5, 1982.

The album succeeded in the United States, reaching number 7 on the U.S Billboard Top Country Albums charts and number 26 on the U.S Billboard 200 Charts.

Song lyrics were written by:

• Charlie Daniels
• Tom Crain
• Fred Edwards
• Charlie Hayward
• Joel “Taz” DiGregorio
• James Marshall

All of the above are famed for their membership of the Charlie Daniels Band.

“Still in Saigon”, happened to be the only single not written by a band member. The song gained success, peaking at number 2 on the US Mainstream Rock Tracks and number 22 on the US Billboard Hot 100 charts. The song highlights the plight of an American veteran who suffers from PTSD after surviving the Vietnam War.

These are the certified singles that the Charlie Daniels Band released from “Windows”:

• “Still in Saigon”
• “We Had It All One Time”
• “Ragin’ Cajun”

Song’s Inspiration

The challenges with PTSD which many Vietnam war veterans had to deal with was the primary inspiration behind “Still in Saigon”.

The impact the Vietnam war had on the political figures, civilians and most severely the soldiers participating it in was daunting to the physical and mental health of many. The war lasted for two decades, from 1st November 1955 to 30th April 1975.

Aside from the 1.1 million soldiers that died during this war, about 15% and 9% of every 100 Vietnam men and women veterans respectively suffered from Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD); the overexpression of normal mental and physiological processes. Most of the PTSD patients were exposed to high levels of combat.

After several years in combat, most of the veterans were diagnosed with psychological and social problems that affected their marriages, sex life, and relational abilities. Most of the Vietnamese veteran men struggled without the help of drugs.

They self-medicated as a way of coping with their past. The large population suffered from depression. Another major challenge produced by PTSD was the high rate of heart diseases that were found. Most of them had reached the critical age margins to suffer heart failures which could have been avoided if they were in a better state of mind. Their encounters at the war did not afford them that luxury.