(This is called “Goodnight Saigon”)
We met as soul mates on Parris Island, we left as inmates from an asylum
And we were sharp, as sharp as knives, & we were so gung ho to lay down our lives
We came in spastic like tameless horses, we left in plastic as numbered corpses
And we learned fast to travel light, our arms were heavy but our bellies were tight
We had no home front, we had no soft soap
They sent us Playboy, they gave us Bob Hope
We dug in deep and shot on sight and prayed to Jesus Christ with all of our might
We had no cameras to shoot the landscape
We passed the hash pipe and played our Doors tapes
And it was dark, so dark at night night night night
And we held onto each other, like brother to brother
We promised our mothers we'd write
And we would all go down together
We said we'd all go down together, yes, we would all go down together
Remember Charlie, remember Baker, they left their childhood on every acre
And who was wrong and who was right right right right
It didn't matter in the thick of the fight
We held the day in the palm of our hand
They ruled the night and the night seemed to last as long as...
Six weeks on Parris Island we held the coastline, they held the highlands
And they were sharp, as sharp as knives knives knives knives
They heard the hum of our motors, they counted the rotors & waited for us to arrive
And we would all go down together
We said we'd all go down together, yes, we would all go down together