118 Meanings
Add Yours
Share
Rooster Lyrics
Ain't found a way to kill me yet
Eyes burn with stinging sweat
Seems every path leads me to nowhere
Wife and kids household pet
Army green was no safe bet
The bullets scream to me from somewhere
Here they come to snuff the rooster
Yeah here come the rooster, yeah
You know he ain't gonna die
No, no, no, ya know he ain't gonna die
Walkin' tall machine gun man
They spit on me in my home land
Gloria sent me pictures of my boy
Got my pills 'gainst mosquito death
My buddy's breathin' his dyin' breath
Oh god please won't you help me make it through
Here they come to snuff the rooster
Yeah here come the rooster, yeah
You know he ain't gonna die
No, no, no ya know he ain't gonna die
Song Info
It was written by guitarist Jerry Cantrell for his father, who served in the Vietnam War. His nickname was "Rooster."[2] The nickname most likely originated from men who used machine guns (see the second verse, first line) as when it would strafe an area the tracers would make a pattern that looked like a rooster's tail, but there is speculation that it may have been in relation to the 101st Airborne Division, in which Cantrell's father served. The 101st Airborne wore patches on their arms featuring a bald eagle. There are no bald eagles in Vietnam, so the closest thing to which the Vietnamese could reference them was the chicken. They referred to them as "chicken men".[3]
In the liner notes of 1999's Music Bank box set collection, Jerry Cantrell said of the song:
Source: Wikipedia
Jerry Cantrell, Jr. wrote this song about Jerry Cantrell, Sr. and the absolute horror stories he's been told about Vietnam by his father... It's amazingly powerful.. Especially with Layne Staley's voice.. If you DO like this song.. I HIGHLY suggest you listen to the acoustic version from MTV Unplugged.
Most of my NCOs were Nam Vets,when I was in Korea on the DMZ,those guys took care of us & kept us alive,I owe my life to guys like Jerry Sr."Roster" was Jerry's nickname growing up,also he was in the 101st Airborne Division,the patch has a bald eagle,theres no bald eagles in Vietnam,both south and north Vietnamese called members of that unit "roosters/chickens",The video shows him as point man,they are wearing the wrong patch(1st Cav),but they are LRRPs (Long Range Reconnaissance Patrols,pronounced "Lurps").Those guys had the most dangerous jobs,google them,they are small, heavily armed long-range reconnaissance teams that patrol deep in enemy-held territory,I was once in a Long Range Surveillance unit (LRS) (pronounced "lurse").Long time ago.This song and video hit me hard,Jerry Sr. was a lefty,the guy who played him was a lefty,"Machinegun man",thats a M-60 Machine gun you see rambo shooting one handed,that doesnt happen,some of the Viets called it a rooster because of the muzzle flash,we called them 'Pigs".Its guys like Jerry who kept us alive with what they went through,they don't talk about it to civilians,but they drilled it into us,non-stop,they didn't want us to die,I've never met him,but I know his kind,he's a brother,the boots they wear,Jerry Jr. are Corcoran Paratrooper boots,if you wern't Airborne,you couldn't wear them,those might be his dad's boots.Wish I knew which 101st LRRP unit he was with.The North Vietnamese Army & the Viet Cong had bounties on all LRRPS,as the North Koreans did on us when I was on the DMZ.Thats were the snuff comes from."They hunted us more so than other units because we kicked the shit out of them & we lost many doing it
I gave you the plus 1. Thanks for sharing.
I gave you the plus 1. Thanks for sharing.
I too was a machinegun man... my nickname was Flash. I'm hyper, or at least use to be... I'm old now.
I too was a machinegun man... my nickname was Flash. I'm hyper, or at least use to be... I'm old now.
M-60... I loved that gun... Didn't want it when it was first assigned, but LOVED it after first use... Simply loved it. I did college after the Army and had an English professor who said you can't shoot that gun like Rambo did... I assured him that yes you can!
M-60... I loved that gun... Didn't want it when it was first assigned, but LOVED it after first use... Simply loved it. I did college after the Army and had an English professor who said you can't shoot that gun like Rambo did... I assured him that yes you can!
It does not typically happen as you mentioned but, I sure felt like the badass of the unit when showing off....
It does not typically happen as you mentioned but, I sure felt like the badass of the unit when showing off. Just a punk kid at the time. What the heck?
I too had NCO Nam Vets who kept me grounded. I appreciated their knowledge and still have utmost respect for them. I will always remember those guys. Thanks for bringing back the memories...
Thank you. For your service.
Thank you. For your service.
@Imjinscout Thank you for your sacrifice. I'd hate to think where we'd be without men and women like you. I couldn't handle it, I know that for a fact. I appreciate you.
@Imjinscout Thank you for your sacrifice. I'd hate to think where we'd be without men and women like you. I couldn't handle it, I know that for a fact. I appreciate you.
Rooster is about a lot more than just Vietnam. At the peak of my depression, I would listen to the Unplugged version every night while trying to fall asleep. To me, Rooster is about isolation, giving up all hope, and wanting to give up; but at the same time knowing that you can't. Sometimes, even when everything is destroying you and you've gotten nowhere, you have no choice but to keep going. It's not necessarily a message of hope, but a realization that sometimes you have no choice but to survive.
@cmetz +1 this is the realist
@cmetz +1 this is the realist
As far as I know, this song is meant to reflect the artist's father in Vietnam.
If the song is about Cantrell's father in Vietnam, then the line: "They spit on me in my home land" doesn't make sense. It wasn't in his home land.
@Andersf Really late comment.. But, back in the 60's & 70's the anti war movement caused people to disrespect our Vietnam Vets horribly. Jerry is talking about how Vets were treating upon their return from tours of duty, literally spat upon in their homeland after serving their country.
@Andersf Really late comment.. But, back in the 60's & 70's the anti war movement caused people to disrespect our Vietnam Vets horribly. Jerry is talking about how Vets were treating upon their return from tours of duty, literally spat upon in their homeland after serving their country.
@Andersf As in Fogarty\'s CCR song from 1969, it was mainly the unfortunate sons that were drafted or choose to fight in Vietnam, and even more unfortunate it was the fortunate sons who spate on the soldiers as they returned.
@Andersf As in Fogarty\'s CCR song from 1969, it was mainly the unfortunate sons that were drafted or choose to fight in Vietnam, and even more unfortunate it was the fortunate sons who spate on the soldiers as they returned.
@Andersf they weren't really treating the guys good when they came home. A lot of them had mental problems and it took a while for places to treat them to open. The hippie era was big so they were totally against any one killing anyone... Seeing human life as equal, something i agree with but u have to support people who keep us free because the truth is that people dont often attack US soil and their is a reason for that, so while i do hate anyone of any culture dying, some messages needed to be in place to...
@Andersf they weren't really treating the guys good when they came home. A lot of them had mental problems and it took a while for places to treat them to open. The hippie era was big so they were totally against any one killing anyone... Seeing human life as equal, something i agree with but u have to support people who keep us free because the truth is that people dont often attack US soil and their is a reason for that, so while i do hate anyone of any culture dying, some messages needed to be in place to keep us as protected as we are today. But hippies didn't see that part so they didn't treat soldiers good, called them killers. Some places had hero welcoming, i guess it depended a lot on the political side of the state you lived in and all but they did in fact spit on them when they came home in some instances
not to contradict any of your personal meanings of this song but the"rooster" as the Vietnamese called it was our symbol for AIRBORNE school.Most of the men that the Vietnamese encountered in battle in the beginning of the war were Airborne Rangers. They mistook the Eagle on our arms for a rooster. So this is the meaning i have found out. Mostly because ive spoken with Vietnamese soldiers and they have verified this on top of calling myself an army "rooster". SGT LOVE 73 RANGER REG
They were actually called "The flying chicken men" which was translated to roosters. Cause it sounds more manly.
They were actually called "The flying chicken men" which was translated to roosters. Cause it sounds more manly.
RLTW!!
RLTW!!
This song is an absolute masterpiece! It really paints a great picture of Vietnam. I would also add that in an way i prefer the Unplugged version because it's a lot more atmospheric. One of AICs BEST
definately a nam song
I agrea max, I'm listening to the acoustic version right now and I like it way better.