We met as soul mates
On Parris Island
We left as inmates
From an asylum
And we were sharp
As sharp as knives
And 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 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
And we held on to 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
Remember Charlie
Remember Baker
They left their childhood
On every acre
And who was wrong?
And who was 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
They heard the hum of our motors
They counted the rotors
And 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.
On Parris Island
We left as inmates
From an asylum
And we were sharp
As sharp as knives
And 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 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
And we held on to 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
Remember Charlie
Remember Baker
They left their childhood
On every acre
And who was wrong?
And who was 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
They heard the hum of our motors
They counted the rotors
And 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.
Lingua: Italiano
Versione italiana di Riccardo Venturi
BUONANOTTE SAIGON
Come anime gemelle
ci siamo incontrati
a Parris Island
ci lasciammo da internati
in un manicomio
ed eravamo acuti,
acuti come coltelli
eravamo cosi' entusiasti
di sacrificare le nostre vite
siamo arrivati irrefrenabili
come cavalli indomabili
siamo ripartiti avvolti di plastica,
delle salme numerate.
E abbiamo imparato alla svelta
a portarci poca roba dietro
le armi erano pesanti
ma avevamo la pancia vuota
nessun fronte interno
niente sapone soffice
ci mandavano Playboy
ci davano Bob Hope
scavavamo profondo
e sparavamo a vista
pregavamo Gesù Cristo
con tutte le nostre forze
non avevamo macchine
per fotografare il paesaggio
ci passavamo il cilum
mettevamo su i nastri dei Doors
ed era buio
cosi' buio la notte
ci stringevamo l'uno all'altro
come dei fratelli
promettevamo alle mamme di scrivere
e volevamo tutti crepare insieme
dicevamo tutti che saremmo crepati insieme
ricordi Charlie
ricordi Baker
hanno lasciato la loro infanzia
su ogni metro di terra
e chi aveva torto?
e chi aveva ragione?
Non importava quanto la mischia era fitta
di giorno li tenevamo
tutti in mano
ma di notte comandavano loro
e la notte
ci sembrava lunga più d'un mese
A Parris Island
tenevamo la fascia costiera
loro tenevano le alture
ed erano acuti
acuti come coltelli
sentivano il rumore dei nostri motori
contavano le pale degli elicotteri
ed aspettavano che arrivassimo
e volevamo tutti crepare insieme
dicevamo tutti che saremmo crepati insieme
si' volevamo tutti crepare insieme.
Come anime gemelle
ci siamo incontrati
a Parris Island
ci lasciammo da internati
in un manicomio
ed eravamo acuti,
acuti come coltelli
eravamo cosi' entusiasti
di sacrificare le nostre vite
siamo arrivati irrefrenabili
come cavalli indomabili
siamo ripartiti avvolti di plastica,
delle salme numerate.
E abbiamo imparato alla svelta
a portarci poca roba dietro
le armi erano pesanti
ma avevamo la pancia vuota
nessun fronte interno
niente sapone soffice
ci mandavano Playboy
ci davano Bob Hope
scavavamo profondo
e sparavamo a vista
pregavamo Gesù Cristo
con tutte le nostre forze
non avevamo macchine
per fotografare il paesaggio
ci passavamo il cilum
mettevamo su i nastri dei Doors
ed era buio
cosi' buio la notte
ci stringevamo l'uno all'altro
come dei fratelli
promettevamo alle mamme di scrivere
e volevamo tutti crepare insieme
dicevamo tutti che saremmo crepati insieme
ricordi Charlie
ricordi Baker
hanno lasciato la loro infanzia
su ogni metro di terra
e chi aveva torto?
e chi aveva ragione?
Non importava quanto la mischia era fitta
di giorno li tenevamo
tutti in mano
ma di notte comandavano loro
e la notte
ci sembrava lunga più d'un mese
A Parris Island
tenevamo la fascia costiera
loro tenevano le alture
ed erano acuti
acuti come coltelli
sentivano il rumore dei nostri motori
contavano le pale degli elicotteri
ed aspettavano che arrivassimo
e volevamo tutti crepare insieme
dicevamo tutti che saremmo crepati insieme
si' volevamo tutti crepare insieme.
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"Goodnight Saigon" is a song written by Billy Joel, originally appearing on his 1982 album The Nylon Curtain, about the Vietnam War. It depicts the situation and attitude of United States Marines beginning with their military training on Parris Island and then into different aspects of Vietnam combat.