| Billy Joel – Goodnight Saigon Lyrics | 11 years ago |
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Actually, Baker was already replaced as radio code by Bravo. Baker was used until 1956 and the era the song talks about is at least 10 years onwards. Charlie is indeed a code. However, Charlie became a nickname because it was used on the radio. The Viet Cong became the Victor Charlie on US radios. And eventually, they simply adopted Charlie, as it's easier to direct an airstrike on "Charlie" rather than "Victor Charlie". The Charlie designation stuck and became the nickname for the Viet Cong for the rest of the war. |
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| Billy Joel – Goodnight Saigon Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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"We met as soul mates On Paris Island We left as inmates From an asylum And we were sharp As sharp as knives And we were so gun ho to lay down our lives." He met friends while on training at Paris Island, the USMC base, they left that base as men who had been trapped and had nothing. They were trained to be the cutting edge of the USMC. And they believed that they were going into combat to defend their country and possibly die for it. "We came in spastic Like tame less horses We left in plastic As numbered corpses And we learned fast To travel light Our arms were heavy but our bellies were tight" They came in, anxious and excited, barely able to be contained. But in the end they got back in body bags. They adapted quickly to leave a lot of stuff behind that they wouldn't use in the jungle so they didn't carry a lot. Their arms were heavy from the duty they had to do while their stomachs were tight cause of the little food. "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." They didn't have a good front line, since it was asymmetrical warfare. They didn't get luxury supplies as soap, but got playboy and comedians to keep the morale high. They dug themselves in to keep the vietcong back and shot everyone who they saw in the jungle. They prayed that they wouldn't be the next the vietcong would take. "We had no cameras To shoot the landscape We passed the hash pipe And played our Doors tapes And it was dark So dark at night And we held onto each other Like brother to brother We promised our mothers we'd write" They couldn't record what they were going through, or the beauty of a peaceful Vietnam to sent back home. They were on drugs and listened to tapes from The Doors (A US rock group). The night in the jungle was dark cause there was nothing to light it and they sought to each other for support and courage, like brothers help brothers. And they promised their mother's they'd write from Vietnam, something they barely could at times. "And we would all go down together We said we'd all go down together Yes we would all go down together" And they were all going through it together. They'd all make it together, or they'd all die together. "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" Charlie was the nickname for the Vietcong, and Baker is a common US surname. I think this means that both sides had young men dying, losing their childhood to this war cause they didn't survive. And when there, nobody cared who was right, it was insanity. They forgot when they were fighting and just fought to survive. "We, held the day In the palm of our hands They, ruled the night And the night, seemed to last as long as six weeks On Paris Island We held the coastline They held the highland And they were sharp As sharp as knives They heard the hum of the motors They counted the rotors And waited for us to arrive" The United States were superior during the day. They held the day in their hand, with aircraft and artillery being able to keep off the Vietcong. But in the night, there were no aircraft or artillery. And then, the Vietcong had the upper hand. Every night, would seem like the six weeks of training at Paris Island, so nerve wrecking and bad. The United States held the coastline, as bases and landing sites. While the Vietcong held the mountains with their tunnel networks the US couldn't find. And the tide had turned, the Vietcong had the upper hand, they were the superior warriors, they were the cutting edge over the USMC. They would wait, watching the US forces in their vehicles, or observe the helicopters, counting the amount. I think this relates to the psychological effect of the jungle, that the soldiers always had the feeling they were being watched by the Vietcong. And when the US was there, the Vietcong would know how many and where, and they'd ambush. "And we would all go down together We said we'd all go down together Yes we would all go down together" And whatever happened, they were still going through it together. |
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