Mum and Dad and Denny saw the passing out parade at Puckapunyal
(It was long march from cadets)
The Sixth Battalion was the next to tour and it was me who drew the card
We did Canungra and Shoalwater before we left
And Townsville lined the footpath as we marched down to the quay
This clipping from the paper shows us young and strong and clean
And there's me in my slouch hat, with my SLR and greens
God help me, I was only nineteen
From Vung Tau riding Chinooks to the dust at Nui Dat
I'd been in and out of choppers now for months
But we made our tents a home, VB and pin-ups on the lockers
And an Asian orange sunset through the scrub
And can you tell me, doctor, why I still can't get to sleep?
And night time's just a jungle dark and a barking M16?
And what's this rash that comes and goes, can you tell me what it means?
God help me, I was only nineteen
A four week operation, when each step could mean your last one on two legs
It was a war within yourself
But you wouldn't let your mates down 'till they had you dusted off
So you closed your eyes and thought about something else
Then someone yelled out "Contact"', and the bloke behind me swore
We hooked in there for hours, then a God almighty roar
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 Frankie, drinking tinnies in the Grand Hotel
Thirty-six hour rec. leave in Vung Tau
And I can still see Frankie lying screaming in the jungle
'Till the morphine came and killed the bloody row
And the Anzac legends didn't mention mud and blood and tears
And stories that my father told me never seemed quite real
I caught some pieces in my back that I didn't even feel
God help me, I was only nineteen
And can you tell me, doctor, why I still can't sleep at night?
And why the Channel Seven chopper chills me to my feet?
And what's this rash that comes and goes, can you tell me what it means?
God help me,
I was only nineteen