I WAS ONLY 19 (A WALK IN THE LIGHT GREEN)

Mum and Dad and Denny saw the passing out parade at Puckapunyal,
It was a long march from cadets.
And the 6th Battalion was the next to tour it was me who drew the straw,
We did Kunundra, Shoalwater before we left,
And Townsville lined the footpaths as we marched down to the quay,
This clipping from the paper shows us young and strong and clean,
And there's me in me slouch hat with me SLR and Greens,
God help me I was only 19

Vung Tau riding Chinooks to the dust of Nui Dat,
We'd been in and out of choppers now for months,
And we made our tents our homes, VB, and pin-ups on the lockers,
And an Agent Orange sunset through the scrub.

And can you tell me doctor why I still can't get to sleep,
Why the night-times just a jungle dark with a barking M-16,
And what's this rash that comes and goes can you tell me what it means,
God help me, I was only 19

4 week operations where each step could mean your last one on two legs,
It was a war within yourself.
But you wouldn't let your mates down till they had you dusted off,
So you closed your eyes and thought about something else.
And the someone yelled out "Contact!", and the bloke behind me swore,
We looked in there for hours, then a God almighty roar,
And Frankie kicked a mine the day that mankind kicked the Moon,
God help me, He was going home in June.

And I can still see Frankie drinking tinnies in the Grand Hotel,
On a 36 hour rec leave in Vung Tau,
And I can still hear Frankie lying screaming in the jungle,
Till the morphine came and killed the bloody row.

And the ANZAC legend didn't mention mud and blood and tears,
And the stories that my father told me never seemed quite real,
I caught some pieces in my back that I didn't even feel,
God help I was only 19

And can you tell me doctor why I still can't get to sleep,
And why the Channel 7 chopper chills me to my feet,
And what's this rash that comes and goes, can you tell me what it means,
God help me I was only 19.

(A walk in the light green, in the title) refers to operational patrols in areas marked light green on topo maps. Darl green meant lots of jungle, lots of cover, and not a lot of mines. Light Green meant thinly wooded areas, stuff all cover and heaps of mines.)