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Billy Joel - Goodnight Saigon
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 tame-less 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
[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 motors
They counted the rotors
And waited for us to arrive
(Repeat chorus)
"Goodnight Saigon" is a song written by Billy Joel, originally appearing on his 1982 album The Nylon Curtain. It is one of the most well-known songs 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 typical aspects of Vietnam combat. Unlike most of his early works, 'Goodnight Saigon' is not a piano-dominated song, instead relying on a gentle guitar strumming pattern, which Joel himself played. However, the rare concert performance has Joel play the spare piano accompaniment. Singer-activist Joan Baez covered the song in 1991.
