Redgum - I Was Only 19 Lyrics
Mum and Dad and Danny saw the passing out parade at PuckapunyalIt was a long march from cadetsThe sixth battalion was the next to tour and it was me who drew the cardWe did Canungra and Shoalwater before we leftAnd Townsville lined the footpaths as we marched down to the quayThis clipping from the paper shows us young and strong and cleanAnd there's me in me slouch hat with me SLR and greensGod help me - I was only nineteenFrom Vung Tau riding Chinooks to the dust at Nui DatI'd been in and out of choppers now for monthsAnd we made our tents a home, V.B. and pinups on the lockersAnd an agent orange sunset through the scrubAnd can you tell me, doctor, why I still can't get to sleep?And night time's just a jungle dark and a barking M.16?And what's this rash that comes and goes, can you tell me what it means?God help me - I was only nineteenA four week operation, when each step can mean your last one on two legsIt was a war within yourselfBut you wouldn't let your mates down 'til they had you dusted offSo you closed your eyes and thought about somethin' elseAnd then someone yelled out "Contact", and the bloke behind me sworeWe hooked in there for hours, then a God almighty roarAnd Frankie kicked a mine the day that mankind kicked the moonGod help me - he was goin' home in JuneAnd I can still see Frankie, drinkin' tinnies in the Grand HotelOn a thirty-six hour rec. leave in Vung TauAnd I can still hear Frankie, lying screaming in the jungle'Til the morphine came and killed the bloody rowAnd the Anzac legends didn't mention mud and blood and tearsAnd the stories that my father told me never seemed quite realI caught some pieces in my back that I didn't even feelGod help me, I was only 19
