I was seventeen when I quit school, the year that I enlisted
I don't recall just why I did, my Mum says I insisted
I had some strange idea then, that Uncle Sam was right
My Mama cried – she signed the card – and I went off to fight.
Got off the plane in Vietnam – it didn't look like war
And with all I saw, I started wondering, just what we came here for
Some Officers got drunk at night and cheated on their wives
While those peasants on the other side – were fighting for their lives.
You know the army tried some fancy stuff, to bring them to their knees
Like Agent Orange defoliant, to clear the brush and trees
We'd fly all day above the trails, through clouds of poison spray
But they never said that chemical, would hurt our health today.
But I got the news this morning – the Doctor told me so
They killed me in Vietnam – and I didn't even know.
Well I tried hard to forget that war, like everybody else did
I settled down, got married and – I even had some kids
Our children both had birth defects, the Doctors had their doubts
They never said what caused it – but I think I just found out.
The Doctor says I have some time – he was trying to be kind
You know, I've never been a radical, but this has changed my mind
I'd be so proud to hear my sons say "Hell no, we won't go!"
"Because you killed our Dad in Vietnam – and he didn't even know."
This Agent Orange from Vietnam, we carry with us still
It stays inside for years and years, and does its best to kill
You might get cancer of the liver, you might get cancer of the skin
You might get a VA Disability – you might not live to win.
Because I got the news this morning – the Doctor told me so
They killed me in Vietnam – and I didn't even know
Oh yes, they killed me in Vietnam – and I didn't even know …
I don't recall just why I did, my Mum says I insisted
I had some strange idea then, that Uncle Sam was right
My Mama cried – she signed the card – and I went off to fight.
Got off the plane in Vietnam – it didn't look like war
And with all I saw, I started wondering, just what we came here for
Some Officers got drunk at night and cheated on their wives
While those peasants on the other side – were fighting for their lives.
You know the army tried some fancy stuff, to bring them to their knees
Like Agent Orange defoliant, to clear the brush and trees
We'd fly all day above the trails, through clouds of poison spray
But they never said that chemical, would hurt our health today.
But I got the news this morning – the Doctor told me so
They killed me in Vietnam – and I didn't even know.
Well I tried hard to forget that war, like everybody else did
I settled down, got married and – I even had some kids
Our children both had birth defects, the Doctors had their doubts
They never said what caused it – but I think I just found out.
The Doctor says I have some time – he was trying to be kind
You know, I've never been a radical, but this has changed my mind
I'd be so proud to hear my sons say "Hell no, we won't go!"
"Because you killed our Dad in Vietnam – and he didn't even know."
This Agent Orange from Vietnam, we carry with us still
It stays inside for years and years, and does its best to kill
You might get cancer of the liver, you might get cancer of the skin
You might get a VA Disability – you might not live to win.
Because I got the news this morning – the Doctor told me so
They killed me in Vietnam – and I didn't even know
Oh yes, they killed me in Vietnam – and I didn't even know …
×
![]()
