By Tony Attwood
“Waist Deep in the Big Muddy” was written by Pete Seeger in 1967. It tells the true story of a platoon attempting to wade a deep river with an officer pushing the men on despite it being apparent that they are going to drown. The song is based on true events from 1942, and focuses on the dangers that can arise where the superiority of rank outweighs clear observation and local knowledge.
The implication is that the country’s leaders, being removed from local knowledge and experience, can regularly make major mistakes by following instructions or beliefs rather than taking into account the knowledge of others.
It is also the tale of how authority and rank are not always a good way to make decisions, not least because those in charge are not always the people with knowledge, and indeed often cannot accept that they have got something wrong.
This up to the final verse is emphasised by the repeated final line of each verse, “the big fool said to push on”. It is thus a challenge to the whole concept of rigid lines of authority where leaders are both literally and metaphorically out of their depth.
Given that the song emerged around the time of what many considered to be the completely ill-conceived Vietnam War, it had a particular impact, with the officer denigrating the local knowledge of one of his men who knows the problems this river can bring. The point is made all the more strongly by the fact that the officer is reduced to name-calling and insults to try and get his men to move forward.
However, even as late as 1967 the song was considered to be too political to be broadcast on a popular TV programme, although after widespread protests they retracted, and Seeger did perform the song on a later show.
For me, there is nothing particular in the music – it is a perfectly reasonable piece which is good to listen to, and it makes its point about the dangers of authority clearly and well. But the censorship of the song by a TV station reminds me, if no one else, of just how long the notion of there being some viewpoints that are not allowable has continued.
In fact, I do subscribe to the notion that there are some things which are so awful they should not be sung about, but I do then feel that we should not pretend that they do not exist. But of course these are just my views from a British, not American, point of view, many many years later. Perhaps the most important point of all is that we can now hear this song, and Bob can choose it as one of his songs for including in the Philosophy of Modern Song.