I Was Only 19

Mum and dad, and Denny saw the passing out parade at Puckapunyal

It was a long march from cadets

The Sixth Battalion was the next to tour, and it was he who drew the card

He did Canungra and Shoalwater before they left

And Townsville lined the footpath as they marched down to the quay

This clipping from the paper shows us young and strong and clean

And that's him in his slouch hat, with his SLR and greens

God help him

He was only 19

From Vung Tau riding Chinooks to the dust at Nui Dat

I'd been in and out of choppers now for months

And we made our tents a home, VB, and pinups 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?

And night time's just a jungle dark and a barking M16?

And what's this rash that comes and goes?

Can you tell me what it means?

God help me

I was only 19

And a four-week operation when each step can mean your last one on two legs

It was a war within yourself

But you wouldn't let your mates down 'til they had you dusted off

So you closed your eyes and you thought about somethin' else

Then someone yelled out "Contact!" and the bloke behind me swore

We hooked in there for hours, then a God-almighty roar

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 drinkin' 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

'Til the morphine came and killed the bloody row

And the ANZAC legends didn't mention mud and blood and tears

And stories that our father told us never seemed quite real

I caught some pieces in my back that I didn't even feel

God help me

I was only 19

And can you tell me, doctor, why I still can't get to sleep?

And why the Channel Seven 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