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