"8th of November" is the title of a song written and recorded by the American country music duo Big & Rich, and recorded on their 2005 album Comin' to Your City. Released in May 2006 as that album's third and final single, the song became the duo's seventh Top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, where it peaked at No. 18, in addition to reaching No. 94 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Content

The lyrics of the refrain refer specifically to "1965, the November 8" in describing the battle. In the album version, Kris Kristofferson provides the introduction and explains the significance of November 8, 1965. The 173d Airborne Brigade was ambushed by Viet Cong during Operation Hump.^[1][2] One of the wounded, Niles Harris, was among the several soldiers saved by Lawrence Joel, who later became the first living black American to receive the Medal of Honor since the Spanish-American War. Years later, Harris gave Big Kenny (one half of the duo) the top hat he often wears in public appearances.

The song itself is a mid-tempo set in a 6/8 time signature in A mixolydian (i.e., a scale of A-B-C-D-E-F-G-A), with a main chord pattern of A-G-D-A.^[3] It gives an account of Harris' life. In the first verse, at the age of 19, Harris joins the military to fight the Vietnamese. He ends up in Vietnam, "with the smell of napalm in the air." The thirty in his group are then ambushed, as earlier stated by Kristofferson. In the second verse, Harris, now 58, exhibits the lingering injuries he sustained during the war, but he is "strong when he talks" about his injuries and his memories of his fallen comrades.

Reception

Kevin John Coyne, reviewing the song for Country Universe, gave it a positive rating. He said the song is the best war song since "Travelin' Soldier".^[4] Stephen Thomas Erlewine, in his review of the album for Allmusic, called it "awkwardly jingoistic".^[5]

Music video

The music video was directed by Deaton-Flanigen and premiered in the week of June 12, 2006. It first starts with Kristofferson saying the intro, and then cuts to the duo performing in front of a large screen, showing the visuals of Harris' life.

Awards

The song was nominated for the 2006 CMA Awards song of the year category; its music video was also nominated for video of the year categories for the CMAs, ACM Awards, and the 49th Annual Grammy Awards.

Chart performance

References