Today’s classic socially relevant song of the day is a terrific tune by songwriter Laura Nyro, “Save the Country.” In addition to being recorded by Nyro herself, “Save the Country” was a big hit for the 5th Dimension; released as a single in June of 1970, it reached #27 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #10 on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart.
Laura Nyro was inspired to write “Save the Country” after Bobby Kennedy was assassinated on June 5, 1968. You can hear it in the reference to “two young brothers” in the lyrics:
Come on, people, come on, children
Come on down to the glory river
Gonna wash you up and wash you down
Gonna lay the devil down, gonna lay that devil down
Come on, people, sons and mothers
Keep the dream of the two young brothers
Gonna take that dream and ride that dove
We could build the dream with love, I know
We could build the dream with love
It took Ms. Nyro less than 48 hours to write the song after hearing the news of RFK’s death and she released it as a single at the end of June. The single, which unfortunately, didn’t chart, was produced by Bones Howe with full band arrangement performed by members of the Wrecking Crew. Nyro also included a version of the song, with just a solo piano accompaniment, on her 1969 album, New York Tendaberry.
The 5th Dimension, who had already had hits with other Laura Nyro tunes, recorded “Save the Country” for their 1970 album, Portrait, and picked it for a single release. While their track was a decent hit and helped to popularize the song, I much prefer Laura’s solo piano version. The 5th Dimension’s version, at least to my older ears, sounds a little too sanitized compared to Laura’s soulful, heartfelt vocals. It’s a great song, though, whomever sings it, and it means more when you know what inspired it.
And here’s your very special daily bonus video of the day, Laura Nyro performing live on the January 15, 1969 episode of NBC’s Kraft Music Hall, introduced by none other than Bobby Darrin. She performs “I’m a Runner” (later covered by Blood, Sweat & Tears) and “Save the Country,” the latter accompanied only by herself on piano. Both are terrific songs and both are powerful performances by one of the most talented songwriters of that or any generation.
In my mind, I can’t study war no more.
