"And now on WT 101.5 Billy Joel with 'Goodnight Saigon." The radio
flowed with music once again.
We met as soul mates On Perris 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
Mac listened to the words numbly. This was her uncle's favorite song. She new all the words and used to sing it.
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.
Uncle Matt had always told her how true this song was. His days in Vietnam were actually as the song described it. She'd never really taken it to heart until she went to serve in the gulf war. In the trench there she hummed the song and as if for the for the first time, realized it's meaning.
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.
That's what she was doing now: praying that Uncle Matt would survive. Just then Harm's hand left the steering wheel and came to the radio to change the station. "Please leave it." Mac said softly. She looked over at him and saw his worried face, but he nodded. She then turned back and stared out in front of her.
We had no cameras, To shoot the landscape, We passed the hash pipe, And played our Doors tapes, And it was dark, So dark as night, And we held onto each other, Like brother to brother, We promised our mothers we'd write, And we would all go down together, We said we we'd all go down together, Yes we would all go down together.
Tears fell. Mac couldn't keep them in, no matter how much she rubbed her eyes.
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.
Mac felt as Harm's hand rested on hers and then grasped it. He'd pulled the car over and as he pulled her into his arms she broke out into spasms of tears. Then he pushed his seat back and pulled her onto his lap and she came willingly. She wept in his arms unashamed and stripped of strength.
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 Perris 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.
"Why Uncle Matt?" She yelled.
We met as soul mates On Perris 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
Mac listened to the words numbly. This was her uncle's favorite song. She new all the words and used to sing it.
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.
Uncle Matt had always told her how true this song was. His days in Vietnam were actually as the song described it. She'd never really taken it to heart until she went to serve in the gulf war. In the trench there she hummed the song and as if for the for the first time, realized it's meaning.
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.
That's what she was doing now: praying that Uncle Matt would survive. Just then Harm's hand left the steering wheel and came to the radio to change the station. "Please leave it." Mac said softly. She looked over at him and saw his worried face, but he nodded. She then turned back and stared out in front of her.
We had no cameras, To shoot the landscape, We passed the hash pipe, And played our Doors tapes, And it was dark, So dark as night, And we held onto each other, Like brother to brother, We promised our mothers we'd write, And we would all go down together, We said we we'd all go down together, Yes we would all go down together.
Tears fell. Mac couldn't keep them in, no matter how much she rubbed her eyes.
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.
Mac felt as Harm's hand rested on hers and then grasped it. He'd pulled the car over and as he pulled her into his arms she broke out into spasms of tears. Then he pushed his seat back and pulled her onto his lap and she came willingly. She wept in his arms unashamed and stripped of strength.
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 Perris 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.
"Why Uncle Matt?" She yelled.