I Should Be Proud
Martha Reeves The Vandellas Lyrics
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"Private John C. Miller, was shot down in Vietnam"
Through my tears I read: "No more information at this time
He′s missin' in action somewhere on the Delta Line"
And they say that I should be proud; he was fightin′ for me
They say that I should be proud, those too blind to see
But he wasn't fightin' for me, my Johnny didn′t have to fight for me
Now I prayed night & day that my Johnny wouldn't die
Love, faith & hope was all that kept me alive
Then 6 weeks later came that cold & heartless letter:
"Private Johnny was killed in action, number 54327"
And they say that I should be proud; he was keepin′ me free
They say that I should be proud, those too blind to see
But he wasn't fightin′ for me, my Johnny didn't have to die for me
He was fightin′ for the evils of society
They shipped him home with medals of honor & glory
Even our local paper ran a front-page story
But the whole time gave him praisin' & said how honored I should be
But I don't want no superstar, just the good man they took from me
And they tell me, I should be proud; he was fightin′ for me
They say that, I should be proud, those too blind to see
But he wasn′t fightin' for me, my Johnny didn′t have to die for me
He's a victim of the evils of society
I should be proud of my Johnny
They tell me, that I should be proud;
They just don′t want Johnny for me
They tell me, that I should be proud of my Johnny...
The song "I Should Be Proud" by Martha Reeves & The Vandellas deals with the complicated emotions of a woman whose partner, Johnny, was killed while fighting in the Vietnam War. The singer is initially informed of Johnny's status as “missing in action”, which leads her to ponder the worth and morality of a war in which young men are sent to fight and die in foreign lands. As she receives confirmation of her worst fears - that Johnny has been killed - she becomes more and more disillusioned with the notion that he died for a just cause. The singer can’t reconcile the idea of being proud of someone who died in war with the idea that she’s lost the love of her life to a war that she doesn’t feel was worth fighting.
Through the course of the song, the singer suggests that government officials and the public at large are too caught up in the frenzy of nationalism and the romanticized version of war to see the toll it takes on individuals and families. Rather than being proud of Johnny for dying in service of his country, she argues that he was actually fighting against societal ills such as poverty, racism and systemic oppression - and, most importantly for her - that he didn’t have to fight for her, but did so as a function of circumstance. The woman at the center of the story wants her man back, rather than the medals and platitudes thrust upon him by a society that she sees as only partially grateful.
Line by Line Meaning
I was under the dryer when the telegram came:
Martha Reeves was getting her hair done at a hair salon when she received the telegram.
"Private John C. Miller, was shot down in Vietnam"
The telegram contained news about the death of Private John C. Miller who was killed in action in Vietnam.
Through my tears I read: "No more information at this time
Martha Reeves read the telegram through her tears and found out that there was no more information available about Private John C. Miller's death.
He′s missin' in action somewhere on the Delta Line"
The telegram informed Martha Reeves that Private John C. Miller was missing in action somewhere on the Delta Line.
And they say that I should be proud; he was fightin′ for me
People are telling Martha Reeves that she should be proud of Private John C. Miller because he was fighting for her.
They say that I should be proud, those too blind to see
Martha Reeves thinks that the people who are telling her to be proud of Private John C. Miller are too blind to see the truth.
But he wasn't fightin' for me, my Johnny didn′t have to fight for me
Martha Reeves doesn't believe that Private John C. Miller was fighting for her because he didn't have to fight for her.
He was fightin′ for the evils of society
Martha Reeves thinks that Private John C. Miller was fighting for a greater cause of fighting against the evils in the society.
Now I prayed night & day that my Johnny wouldn't die
Martha Reeves prayed every day and night that Private John C. Miller wouldn't die.
Love, faith & hope was all that kept me alive
Martha Reeves kept herself alive with love, faith, and hope during the tough times when her loved one was at war.
Then 6 weeks later came that cold & heartless letter:
After six weeks, Martha Reeves received a cold and heartless letter with more bad news.
"Private Johnny was killed in action, number 54327"
The letter informed Martha Reeves that Private John C. Miller was killed in action and his identification number is 54327.
They shipped him home with medals of honor & glory
Private John C. Miller was brought back home with medals of honor and glory for his service.
Even our local paper ran a front-page story
Martha Reeves' local newspaper ran a front-page story about Private John C. Miller's service and death.
But the whole time gave him praisin' & said how honored I should be
People kept praising Private John C. Miller and saying how honored Martha Reeves should be for his service.
But I don't want no superstar, just the good man they took from me
Martha Reeves would rather have Private John C. Miller as the good man he was than have people praising him like a superstar.
And they tell me, I should be proud; he was fightin′ for me
Even after Private John C. Miller's death, people still tell Martha Reeves that she should be proud of him because he was fighting for her.
They say that, I should be proud, those too blind to see
Martha Reeves still thinks that the people who tell her to be proud of Private John C. Miller are too blind to see the truth.
But he wasn′t fightin' for me, my Johnny didn't have to die for me
Private John C. Miller didn't have to die for Martha Reeves; he was fighting for a greater cause against societal evils.
He's a victim of the evils of society
Martha Reeves believes that Private John C. Miller is a victim of societal evils that led to his death in war.
I should be proud of my Johnny
Martha Reeves is proud of Private John C. Miller for being a good man and fighting for a greater cause.
They tell me, that I should be proud;
People keep telling Martha Reeves that she should be proud of Private John C. Miller.
They just don′t want Johnny for me
Martha Reeves doesn't want people to treat Private John C. Miller like a superstar; she just wants him back.
They tell me, that I should be proud of my Johnny...
People keep telling Martha Reeves that she should be proud of Private John C. Miller even though he didn't have to die for her.
Writer(s): Pamela Joan Sawyer, Henry Cosby, Joe Hinton
Contributed by Sarah O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.