In ’69 I went to war while Nixon was in charge
And Kissinger his famous brain was Ambassador-at-large
United us in strange embrace, both yearning to be free
Many men of different stripes with duffle bag in hand
Saw this Orient in great divide, a sacrificial land
The sun was hot, the soil was hard but our duty call was heard
The officers had our full respect, we took them at their word
Modern cavalry soon was marching, it mounted a high horse
Artillery guns were sounding, the war marched on its’ course
So off I went to guard my post of concrete, sand, and wire
At night the sky a show of bursting flares and fire
I had this Ranger background, ate snakes with my bare teeth
Bled red American Marlboro blood, Uncle Sam was my new chief
Overhead the choppers ripped the air, twin 60s at their doors
They searched the land for Viet Cong, rice paddy killer whores
The DMZ was really not all peacefulness and calm
The flowers there were buried by the smell of fresh napalm
Tet was a bitch for all involved, a bloody New Years truce
When General Giap knifed public Peace & hoped to cook that goose
We had marines in ol’Khe Sanh, six thousand in flat Hell
Unlike a real world title fight, no friendly-sounding bell
Then Abrams tried to save the day; he came in to help us out
But Charlie boy still had his guns and fought without a doubt
It started with a Friday rain and ran for months straight through
I hopped a jeep and left
The strawberry fields and rubber trees, red dust cloud in my head
I felt the weight of loyalty, machine gun in my bed
I heard Mike Leonard give his brief behind an army door
A peace sign hanging from his neck, he spoke about the war
What he had to say you had to hear, he said about
The tanks would come down highway One and everyone’d take flight
The statues in this country, fighting soldiers under arms
Have weapons in poor peasant hands when all they want are farms
I left for home in a Freedom Bird from a world the French forgot
Knew a RED flag rose in victory and wondered, “Was it all for naught?”
I thought you had to love me, a steel warrior from your past
But when I walked your chilly roads those notions faded fast
Another war became another war, as conquest dreams were planned
While
Come on
Tell me all I need to hear, pump love songs thru my head
Come on
Tell me all I need to know, softly whisper in my ear.
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