8th Of November
BIG & RICH
BY: BIG SKY
Lyrics
Said goodbye to his mamma
As he left South Dakota
To fight for the Red, White, and Blue.
He was nineteen and green with a new M-16
Just doing what he had to do.
He was dropped in the jungle
Where the choppers would rumble
With the smell of napalm in the air.
And the sergeant said, "Look up ahead“
Like a dark, evil cloud
1,200 came down
on him and 29 more.
They fought for their lives
But most of them died
In the 173rd Airborne
Lyrics Continued
(Chorus)
On the 8th of November,
The angels were crying
As they carried his brothers away.
With the fire raining down
And the Hell all around
There were few men left standing that day.
Saw the eagle fly,
Through a clear, blue sky
1965, the 8th of November .
Now he's fifty-eight
And his ponytail's grey
But the battle still plays in his head.
He limps when he walks,
But he's strong when he talks
About the shrapnel they left in his leg.
Lyrics Continued
He puts on a grey suit
Over his Airborne tattoo
And He ties it on one time a year
And remembers the fallen,
As he orders a tall one
And swallows it down with his tears.
(Chorus)
On the 8th of November,
The angels were crying
As they carried his brothers away.
With the fire raining down
And the Hell all around
There were few men left standing that day.
Saw the eagle fly,
Through a clear, blue sky
1965, the 8th of November.
Lyrics Continued
Saw the eagle fly,
Through a clear, blue sky
1965.
(Chorus)
On the 8th of November,
The angels were crying
As they carried his brothers away.
With the fire raining down
And the Hell all around
There were few men left standing that day.
Lyrics…
(Chorus)
On the 8th of November,
The angels were crying
As they carried his brothers away.
With the fire raining down
And the Hell all around,
There were few men left standing that day.
Saw the eagle fly,
Through a clear, blue sky
1965, the 8th of November.
The 8th of November
The 8th of November
He said goodbye to his mamma
As he left South Dakota
To fight for the Red, White, and Blue.
He was nineteen and green with a new M-16
Just doing what he had to do.
Citations










Valentin, Marissa "Angels In Religion." Angels In Religion. 29 Jan. 2008 EzineArticles.com. 2 Jun.
2010 <http://ezinearticles.com/?Angels-In-Religion&id=956326>. 173rd Airborne Brigade. N.d.
173rd Airborne. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 June 2010. <http://www.173airborne.army.mil/home.htm>.
“173rd Airborne Brigade.” 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 June 2010.
<http://www.173abnbde.setaf.army.mil/history.htm>.
“American Bald Eagle Information.” Bald Eagle Info. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 June 2010.
<http://www.baldeagleinfo.com/>.
American Flag. N.d. USA Flag Site. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 June 2010. <http://www.usa-flag-site.org/>.
Big and Rich. N.d. Big And Rich. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 June 2010.
<http://www.bigandrich.com/my_gallery/artist>.
Big Sky. 2009. Personal photograph by author.
Bittrich, Lowell D. “Operation Hump.” Ibiblio. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 June 2010.
<http://www.ibiblio.org/173abn/OperationHump.php>.
Douglas Aircraft Co. Plane Used During Operation Hump. N.d. C141 Heaven. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 June
2010. <http://www.c141heaven.us/matsbook/mats_chapter_01.html>.
HighBeam Research, LCC. “South Dakota: History, Geography, Population and State Facts.”
Infoplease. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 June 2010. <http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0108270.html>.
Kenny, Big, and John Rich. “The Big and Rich Story.” Big and Rich. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 May 2010.
<http://www.bigandrich.com/bio>.
Citations











Kieffer, Gary I. Plane Letting Off Many Troops into the Air. N.d. Visual Intel. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 June 2010.
<http://www.visualintel.net/Army/Units/173rdAirborne/9754728_mrRKB/1/660819289_6ayhc#660816577_tkZPu>.
Microsoft Office. Angel. N.d. Jpeg file.
Mount Rushmore National Monument. N.d. Planetware. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 June 2010.
<http://www.planetware.com/picture/keystone-mount-rushmore-national-monument-us-sdmr2.htm>.
Rich, John, et al. “Big & Rich, 8th Of November Lyrics.” cowboylyrics.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 May 2010.
<http://www.cowboylyrics.com/lyrics/big-&-rich/8th-of-november-16645.html>.
Ruffell, WL. “Shrapnel.” Schrapnel. N.p., 2001. Web. 1 June 2010. <http://www.riv.co.nz/rnza/hist/shrap/index.htm>.
Rutledge, Hope. American Bald Eagle. N.d. Bald Eagle Info. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 June 2010.
<http://www.baldeagleinfo.com/>.
Sandro. Truckin’ Across the USA. 2001. Pocantico Hills. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 June 2010.
<http://www.pocanticohills.org/usa02/usa02.htm>.
Shrapnel. N.d. Army History. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 June 2010. <http://www.history.army.mil/faq/shrapnel.htm>.
“Vietnam War Facts.” Vietnam War Info. N.p., 2009. Web. 1 June 2010. <http://www.vietnam-war.info/facts/>.
Vietnam War Picture: A Machine Gunner and a Rifleman Firing at the Enemy. 1967. National Archives and Records
Administration.
Volsky, Igor. “Is Iraq another Vietnam?” Editorial. Writings by the Hudson. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 June 2010.
<http://politicaligor.wordpress.com/2007/03/25/is-iraq-like-vietnam/>.
Big & Rich
 Big Kenny and John Rich created Big & Rich in 1998. Big Kenny and
John Rich were just laid off from their own bands, and were trying to
make a living by promoting different songs. Big Kenny was getting
many female fans, and one of them was John Rich’s broad. She
convinced him to see Big Kenny, which he agreed to. He saw him and
liked what he saw. They decided to get together and work on a few
songs since their views were so different. They started doing shows on
Tuesday nights, for one main reason; if people wanted to listen to their
music only they would come to the shows rather than drink and party
with friends. They kept making songs together and now are big shots
together.
Back
Big Sky
 Big Sky was born in Oklahoma City,
Oklahoma. He lived there until he
turned 1 and then moved to Atlanta,
Georgia. There he played baseball and
football. Then, in 2006 he moved to
Virginia where he attended Short Pump
and Deep Run. He continued to play
baseball and football. His newest
project is working on literary devices
and historical figures in the 8th of
November song.
Back
South Dakota
 South Dakota became a state in 1889. It was part of
the sale of the Louisiana Purchase. The state song is
“Hail, South Dakota.” 775,933 people live in South
Dakota.
Back
Red, White, And Blue- Symbol Colors in the USA
Flag
 The white in the flag, represents purity and
innocence.
 The Blue in the Flag, represents justice,
perseverance, and vigilance.
 The Red in the Flag, represents valor and hardiness.
Back
Dropped in the Jungle- Symbol Of Vietnam
 In the Vietnam War, 58,148 American Men were
killed. 304,000 were wounded also.
 91 percent of the Vietnam veterans were happy that
they served.
 Two Thirds of the people that served in Vietnam
were volunteers.
Back
Like a Dark Evil Cloud, 1200 Came Down, Simile
 In this line, it is a simile between a cloud, and many
people blocking the sun. This showed that while the
soldiers were in Vietnam, many Vietnamese troops
were let off of helicopters onto the American troops.
It was a very bloody battle.
Back
173rd Airborne
 The 173rd Airborne was put together in 1917. It was
deployed into France during World War I. The
group was on and off during the next few years and
wasn’t established for full time until World War II.
After that, they got disbanded again until Okinawa
and Vietnam. They were the first ground unit
dropped in Vietnam.
Back
Eagle- National Bird of America
 The Bald Eagle is the only bird species only found in
America. The bald eagle does not mean that the bird
has nothing on its head, back in the old days bald
meant white hair. I thought that was very
interesting. Also, the bald eagle was an endangered
species from 1967 to 2007.
Back
8th of November 1965
 On the 8th of November, the United States attempted
to do Operation Hump. This operation was not a full
success, because they were ambushed when they
were trying to move in. Only 48 died, but many were
wounded. They ended up killing over 300 Vietnam
soldiers on that one day.
Back
Shrapnel
 A shrapnel is a spherical object
filled with musket balls. It was
made to be shot above enemy
troops and explode, causing a
shotgun effect. This man killing
weapon was made in 1784 by
Lieutenant Shrapnel. However,
the more important people in
the army took no notice of it. In
1803 it was finally approved for
use in the army.
Back
Angels
 An angel is a minister of God, in the religion of
Christianity. They are also used in Judaism and
Islam. Recently, studies have shown that more
people in the United States are believing in Angels.
In the 4th century angels were shown with wings, to
help explain how they travel from Earth to Heaven.
Back
The Hell
 This is a symbol of the
madness that was going
on during the battle.
The chaos was
unbelievable. Many of
the troops did not know
what was going on. The
Vietnam were coming
from all different
directions to corner the
Americans.
Back
Eagle- Symbol of USA
 The United States became a country on July 4, 1776.
 The capital is Washington D.C.
 The Star Spangled Banner is the national song.
 Also, the population is just over 298 million people.
Back