The song lyrics were written by the band Van Halen, as they were asked to write a song for the 1979 movie "Over the Edge" starring Matt Dillon. The movie (and the lyrics, although more obliquely) are about bored, rebellious youth with nothing better to do than get into trouble. If you see the movie, these lyrics will make more sense. It's a great movie if you grew up in the 70s/80s you'll definitely remember some of these characters from your own life. Fun fact, after writing the song, Van Halen decided not to let the movie use it.
Well come on all of you big strong men,
Uncle Sam needs your help again,
He got himself in a terrible jam,
Way down yonder in Vietnam,
Put down your books and pick up a gun,
We're gonna have a whole lotta fun
And its 1,2,3 what are we fighting for?
Don't ask me I don't give a damn,
The next stop is Vietnam,
And its 5,6,7 open up the pearly gates,
Well there ain't no time to wonder why,
WHOOPEE we're all gonna die
Well come on wall street don't be slow,
Why man this is war go go go,
There's plenty good money to be made,
By supplying the army with the tools of the trade,
Just hope and pray that if they drop the bomb
They drop it on the Vietcong.
And its 1,2,3 what are we fighting for?
Don't ask me I don't give a damn,
The next stop is Vietnam,
And its 5,6,7 open up the pearly gates,
Well there ain't no time to wonder why,
WHOOPEE we're all gonna die
Well come on generals let's move fast,
Your big chance is come at last,
Gotta go out and get those reds,
The only good commie is one that's dead,
And you know that peace can only be won,
When you blow them all to kingdom come
And its 1,2,3 what are we fighting for?
Don't ask me I don't give a damn,
The next stop is Vietnam,
And its 5,6,7 open up the pearly gates,
Well there ain't no time to wonder why,
WHOOPEE we're all gonna die
Well come on mothers across the land,
Pack your boys off to Vietnam,
Come on fathers don't hesitate,
Send your sons off before its too late,
Be the first one on your block,
To have your boy come home in a box
And its 1,2,3 what are we fighting for?
Don't ask me I don't give a damn,
The next stop is Vietnam,
And its 5,6,7 open up the pearly gates,
Well there ain't no time to wonder why,
WHOOPEE we're all gonna die
Uncle Sam needs your help again,
He got himself in a terrible jam,
Way down yonder in Vietnam,
Put down your books and pick up a gun,
We're gonna have a whole lotta fun
And its 1,2,3 what are we fighting for?
Don't ask me I don't give a damn,
The next stop is Vietnam,
And its 5,6,7 open up the pearly gates,
Well there ain't no time to wonder why,
WHOOPEE we're all gonna die
Well come on wall street don't be slow,
Why man this is war go go go,
There's plenty good money to be made,
By supplying the army with the tools of the trade,
Just hope and pray that if they drop the bomb
They drop it on the Vietcong.
And its 1,2,3 what are we fighting for?
Don't ask me I don't give a damn,
The next stop is Vietnam,
And its 5,6,7 open up the pearly gates,
Well there ain't no time to wonder why,
WHOOPEE we're all gonna die
Well come on generals let's move fast,
Your big chance is come at last,
Gotta go out and get those reds,
The only good commie is one that's dead,
And you know that peace can only be won,
When you blow them all to kingdom come
And its 1,2,3 what are we fighting for?
Don't ask me I don't give a damn,
The next stop is Vietnam,
And its 5,6,7 open up the pearly gates,
Well there ain't no time to wonder why,
WHOOPEE we're all gonna die
Well come on mothers across the land,
Pack your boys off to Vietnam,
Come on fathers don't hesitate,
Send your sons off before its too late,
Be the first one on your block,
To have your boy come home in a box
And its 1,2,3 what are we fighting for?
Don't ask me I don't give a damn,
The next stop is Vietnam,
And its 5,6,7 open up the pearly gates,
Well there ain't no time to wonder why,
WHOOPEE we're all gonna die
Lyrics submitted by sillybunny
I Feel Like I'm Fixin To Die Lyrics as written by
Lyrics © ALKATRAZ CORNER MUSIC CO
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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I love that chorus darn it! How they cut out at three and seven only to have a similar sounding word replacing it at the end of the sentance! I'm in love =P
This songis fucking awesome. I like the live version best. It also applies to the Iraq War :-)
songs awsome dude... should be on their album. i dont think its about the iraq war since technicaly we dont have any allies and were only going for a group of people with out a draft. if things stay like this were gonna need to draft since machines and big bombs cant hit a specific target without hurting civilians....
this song is genious - the chorus is so clever.
and even though its about the veitnam war it can apply to almost every war through out history that has to use conscription/draft to fight a war that the govt' started
i like this song but find it somewhat disturbing to have "be the first person on your block to have your boy come home in a box" with the happy music
Another baby boomer song that my parents always sing. They talk about the draft lottery and the friends they knew who got drafted. The story is so descriptive for the feelings of the time. "Whoopee we're all gonna die" I think illustrates kids who don't know what they're getting into. "Put down your books and pick up a gun" shows our gov't seemed to care more about winning a hopeless police action than educating our young men. "Be the first one on your block to have your boy come home in a box" seems to me like WWII era men are priding themselves on their "military patriotic boys" and trying to out do their neighbors, until they're songs are shipped home. I love that line. Totally in your face for the time. My daddy was handicapped so he couldn't even volunteer for military service. He was almost killed in a motorcycle accident as a teenager. He always says he doesn't know if that was a blessing or not. It kept him out of the draft, but he has to live w/being handicapped the rest of his life.
I'm not typing that again.