19 (New Version)

Lyrics

[Intro] (Okay, buddy) In 1965, Vietnam seemed like just another foreign war But it wasn't It was different in many ways, and so were those that did the fighting In World War II the average age of the combat soldier was twenty-six In Vietnam he was nineteen In-in-in-in-in-in-in-in Vietnam, he was nineteen [Chorus] The shooting and fighting of the past two weeks continued today twenty-five miles northwest of Saigon I really wasn't sure what was going on Ni-ni-ni-ni-nineteen, nineteen-nineteen-nineteen, nineteen Nine-nine, nine-nine, nine-nine, nine-nineteen Nine-nine, nine-nine, nine-nine, nine-nineteen [Verse 1] In Vietnam, the combat soldier typically served a twelve month tour of duty But was exposed to hostile fire almost everyday [Chorus] Ni-ni-ni-ni-ni-ni-ni-ni-ni-ni-ni-nineteen Ni-ni-ni-ni-ni-ni-ni-ni-ni-ni-ni-nineteen Ni-ni-ni-ni-ni-ni-ni-ni-ni-ni-ni-nineteen Ni-ni-ni-ni-ni-ni-ni-ni-ni-ni-ni-nineteen [Verse 2] Hundreds of thousands of men who saw heavy combat in Vietnam were arrested since discharge Their arrest rate is almost twice that of non-veterans of the same age There are no accurate figures of how many of these men have been incarcerated But a Veterans' Administration study concludes that the greater of vets wxposure to combat could more likely affect his chances of being arrested or convicted This is one legacy of the Vietnam War [Bridge] All those who remember the war They won't forget what they've seen Destruction of men in their prime Whose average was nineteen D-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-destruction D-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-destruction D-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-destruction War, war D-d-d-d-destruction, wa-wa-wa-wa-wa-wa-wa-war D-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-destruction, war, war D-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-destruction, war, war [Verse 3] After World War II the men came home together on troop ships But the Vietnam vet often arrived home within forty-eight hours of jungle combat Perhaps the most dramatic difference between World War II and Vietnam was coming home None of them received a hero's welcome None of them received a hero's welcome None of them, none of them *Sampling* None of them received a hero's welcome None of them received a hero's welcome None of them received a hero's welcome *Sampling* [Instrumental Break] [Verse 4] According to a Veteran's Administration study Half of the Vietnam combat veterans suffered from what Psychiatrists call Post-Traumatic-Stress-Disorder Many vets complain of alienation, rage or guilt Some succumb to suicidal thoughts Eight to ten years after coming home Almost eight hundred thousand men are still fighting the Vietnam War [Chorus] D-d-d-d-des—, destruction D-d-d-d-des—, destruction Ni-ni-ni-ni-ni-ni-ni-ni-ni-ni-ni-nineteen Nine-teen, nine-teen, nineteen, nineteen, nineteen Ni-ni-ni-ni-ni-ni-ni-ni-ni-ni-ni-nineteen Nine-teen, nine-teen, nineteen, nineteen, nineteen [Outro] When we came back it was different, everybody wants to know, "How'd it happened to those guys over there There's gotta be something wrong somewhere" We did what we had to do "There's gotta be something wrong somewhere" People wanted us to be ashamed of what it made us They had no idea where we've been five to ten years now All we wanted to do is come home Why? All we wanted to do is come home What did we do it for? All we wanted to do is come home Was it worth it?