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Goodnight Saigon Lyrics

Artist: Billy Joel

We met as soulmates
On Parris Inland
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 homefront
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 onto each other
like brother to bother
we promised our mothers we'd write

(chorus)
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 fight,...

We, held the day,..
in the palm of our hands
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 highland
and they were sharp
as sharp as knives
they heard the hum of the mortars
they counted the rotors
and waited for us to arrive

(repeat chorus)

Comments/Interpretations

by luke on 8/13/2008 6:06pm
mad song

by manny on 11/1/2009 1:08am
wonderful song. G-d bless our servicemen!

by Dee dee Frank on 7/10/2010 2:26pm
It is the hum of "the motors" not mortars. They're talking about the helicopters.

by johnny on 8/30/2012 9:59am
The Americans first bombarded an area (hum of the mortars) before sending in the helicopters (they conted the rotors)

by Col. John on 2/17/2013 11:05pm
"hum of the mortars" should be " hum of the motors" (engines)

But great, acurate lyrcs !!!!

by ProcurerBravo on 6/24/2013 8:18am
Mortars hum or whine on the way down
Rotors make a whop whop whop sound when you are on ground
Anyone on country in combat knows that
But only billy j knows regardless it is great song