We met as soulmates
On Parris Island
We left as inmates
From an asylum
And we were sharp
As sharp as knives
And we were so gung ho to lay down our lives
We came in spastic
Like tameless horses
We left in plastic
As numbered corpses
And we learned fast
To travel light
Our arms were heavy
But our bellies were tight
We had no homefront
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
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
And we would all go down together
We said we'd all go down together
Yes we would all go down 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
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 Parris 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
And we would all go down together
We said we'd all go down together
Yes we would all go down together
On Parris Island
We left as inmates
From an asylum
And we were sharp
As sharp as knives
And we were so gung ho to lay down our lives
We came in spastic
Like tameless horses
We left in plastic
As numbered corpses
And we learned fast
To travel light
Our arms were heavy
But our bellies were tight
We had no homefront
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
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
And we would all go down together
We said we'd all go down together
Yes we would all go down 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
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 Parris 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
And we would all go down together
We said we'd all go down together
Yes we would all go down together
Lyrics submitted by kevin, edited by kilercrab321
Goodnight Saigon Lyrics as written by Billy Joel
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Capitol CMG Publishing
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
Billy Joels Greatest hits 1&2 is a tape that's been around my entire life... one of my earliest memories... I never really got into this song till I was about 11 or 12, and I really don't know why I did... I always new about 'Nam, but for some reason I heard this song one time and felt so hurt... like I had gone over there, and come back myself, leaving so many friends behind...
The way the vets were treated upon their return was indeed horrible, but I don't see any of that in this song... The song is simply about the horror of the war itself...
But this song does have a deeper meaning to me now... I can't listen to it right now... Just reading it brings tears to my eyes... I'm worried about my friends over in Iraq... Here's hoping that they'll all come home together..