"Dear Uncle Sam" is a song written and originally recorded by the American

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

artist Loretta Lynn. It was released as a

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

in January 1966 by

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...

Background and reception

"Dear Uncle Sam" was recorded at the Columbia Recording Studio on 15 November 1965. Located in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

, the session was produced by the renowned country music producer

Owen Bradley William Owen Bradley (October 21, 1915 – January 7, 1998) was an American musician and record producer who, along with Chet Atkins, Bob Ferguson, Bill Porter, and Don Law, was one of the chief architects of the 1950s and 1960s Nashville sou ...

. Three additional tracks were recorded during this session, including the single's

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

, "Hurtin' for Certain". "Dear Uncle Sam" is told from the perspective of a wife whose spouse is entering the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

and was one of the first country music songs to discuss war. It was Lynn's second self-composed song to enter the country music charts, the first being "I'm a Honky Tonk Girl" in 1960. "Dear Uncle Sam" reached number four on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' Hot Country Singles survey in 1966. It was her seventh top ten single on the country chart. It was included on her 1966 studio album, ''

I Like 'Em Country ''I Like 'Em Country'' is the sixth solo studio album by American country music singer-songwriter Loretta Lynn. It was released on March 28, 1966, by Decca Records. The album features only one song written by Lynn, " Dear Uncle Sam". It also incl ...

''.

Track listings

;7" vinyl single * "Dear Uncle Sam" – 2:14 * "Hurtin' for Certain'" – 2:00

Charts

Weekly charts

References

1966 songs 1966 singles Decca Records singles Loretta Lynn songs Songs written by Loretta Lynn Song recordings produced by Owen Bradley Songs of the Vietnam War {{1960s-country-song-stub