My Vietnam

I like this song.. It's someone who thinks she did well in school, when she didn't... then she gets presurised by her parents and her life.. the words.....

"This is my Vietnam I'm at war Life keeps on dropping bombs And I keep score"

Explains how she's coping w/ everything that life's throwing at her.

I DON'T usually like music like Pinks. But my friend Emma's a freak on her.. and she got me to listen to this one song, and I found out that I really like it..

It's a good song..good words.. nods =]

i think this song's about her not being able to please the people in her life, even though she feels like she's already okay.

she's at war... she's not good enough to other people (mother, teacher), and then she realizes that other people feel the same (those homeless), and finds out that has right to freedom just a guess, this is the first time i heard the song

i love this song as much as it is possible. we all fight a war internally and our mind subconsciously keeps tabs on it.

this is the only song i like from her

What does this song mean??? I don't understand how all the parts fit together. I like the intro to the song.

This song seems to be aimed mostly at her mother, even though she first mentions her father. In a sense, it seems she's filling in for him; she knows the freedoms taken advantage of, she's at war, she's fighting with her mother, etc. All in all, good song. I really like the symbolic war and bombs.

i'm surprised this song isn't as controversial as i thought it would be. sure it's old, but still. dear mr. president raised heads immediately. this song seems so powerful, maybe it's just me. this is one of my favourite songs by pink, vocally and lyrically. it's a piece of fucking art, really.

I agree with Kimface that it's mainly aimed at her mom. The song is asking what she needs to do to make her mom happy, as her mom never makes her feel like she's good enough.

(I'm going to assume the song is auto-biographical)

'This is my Vietnam I'm at war Life keeps on dropping bombs And I keep score'

Pink feels like she's at war with her mom. Life keeps on 'dropping bombs' on her... and she has to try to calmly deal with it... to just keep score. (Although this score has now added up to her realising her mom is a lunatic, and writing a song about it to fight back)

'Mama was a lunatic She liked to push my buttons She said I wasn't good enough But I guess I wasn't trying'

The reason for the constant fighting with her mom is that her mom always tried to annoy her, and make her angry. Nothing pink did was ever good enough for her mom, and Pink always put this down to not trying hard enough.

'Never liked school that much They tried to teach me better But I just wasn't hearing it Because I thought I was already pretty clever'

The thing her mom would have nagged most about would be school- which Pink didn't try hard at because she didn't like it. School could see she was having problems, but she wasn't having any of it because she didn't think she needed their help.

'What do you expect from me? What am I not giving you? What could I do for you To make me okay in your eyes? '

She's asking what she needs to do to be accepted in her crazy mother's eyes.

Now back to the beginning..

'Daddy was a soldier He taught me about freedom Peace and all the great things That we take advantage of'

Her father isn't around much... he's a soldier. But one of the things he taught her was freedom. Something she doesn't have with her mom, as nothing she ever does is good enough for her mom.. she's always trying to be ok in her mom's eyes, and so doesn't feel free to just be. Another thing he taught her was peace... again, she doesn't have this with her mom, as she's always 'at war' with her. We take advantage of these great things- until we know what it's like to be without it. Her dad knows what it's like to be without it, because he's a soldier. She knows what it's like to be without it, because of her mother. But her mother takes advantage of it.

'Once I fed the homeless I'll never forget The look upon their faces as I Treated them with respect'

Because she's learnt about peace and freedom and respect through her father, and the importance of having them through not having them, she's able to show it to the homeless.. she'll never forget the look on their faces... because, like her, they've never been treated with respect before either.

Vietnam was an unwinable war, meaning she will never be able to change the situation with her mom.