Goodnight Saigon -- Billy Joel

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 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  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
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? It didn't matter in the thick of the fights  We held the day in the palm of our hands They ruled the nights, and the nights  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                                                     (sing365)

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.                     (wikipedia)  


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