The Herd - I Was Only 19 lyrics

(yep, check) Mum, Dad and Denny were some amongst many Who turned up to see the pa**ing out parade at Puckapunyal Seemed every man and his mongrel watched cadets stumble On the long march to the Viet jungle "Oh Christ", I mumbled as I drew that card And my mates came to slap me on the back with due regard We were the sixth battalion, yep next to tour We did Canungra and Shoalwater before we left, rest a**ured Seemed half of Townsville turned out to see us leave And they lined the footpaths as we marched to the quay The papers wrote it up like you would not believe But we were looking to the future for a fast reprieve The newspaper clippings show us young, strong and clean Rockin' slouch hats, slung SLRs and greens God help me, I was only nineteen From Vung Tau in black helicopters The chinook pilots seemed relieved at Nui Dat when they dropped us Feels like months running on and off landing pads Letters to Dad 'cause it's like, man, he's sad But he can't see the tents that we call home Cans of VB and pin-ups on the lockers of the chicks off TV The noise, the mosquitoes and the heat surprising Like the first time you see an agent orange horizon So please can you tell me doctor why I still can't get to sleep The scar's left in me? Night time's just a jungle, dark and a barking M16 That keeps saying "rest in peace" And what the hell's this rash that comes and goes I don't suppose you can tell me what that means? God help me, I was only nineteen Sent off on a four-week long operation Where every single step could be your last one On two legs it was sorta living hell Falling with the shells, war within yourself But you wouldn't let your mates down 'till they had you dusted off So you closed your eyes and thought of something else Then someone yelled "contact!", another bloke swore We hooked in there for hours then a god almighty roar Then Frankie kicked a mine, the day that mankind kicked the moon God help me, he was going home in June And I can still see Frank with a can in his hand Thirty-six hour leave in the bar at the Grand I can still hear Frank, a screaming mess Of bleeding flesh, couldn't retrieve his legs The ANZAC legend neglected to mention the mud The fear, the blood, the tears, the tension Dad's recollection beyond comprehension Didn't seem quite real until we were sent in The chaos and confusion, the fire and steel Hot shrapnel in my back I didn't even feel God help me, I was only nineteen So please can you tell me doctor, why I can't get to sleep I can't hardly eat? And the sound of the Channel Seven chopper still chills me to my feet Still fuels my grief? And what's this rash that comes and goes Like the dreams, can you tell me what that means? God help me, I was only nineteen Mum and Dad and Denny saw the pa**ing out parade at Puckapunyal It was a long march from Cadets The sixth battalion was the next to tour It was me who drew the card We did Canungra and Shoalwater before we left So please can you tell me doctor, why I can't get to sleep I can't hardly eat? And the sound of the Channel Seven chopper still chills me to my feet Still fuels my grief? And what's this rash that comes and goes Like the dreams, can you tell me what that means? God help me, I was only nineteen