x[Intro]
A C G D A G A
[Verse 1]
A C G D A
Mum and Dad and Denny saw the passing out parade at Puckapunyal
G A
(1t was long march from cadets).
A C G D
The sixth battalion was the next to tour and It was me who drew the card.
A G A
We did Canungra and Shoalwater before we left.
[Chorus 1]
E D A
And Townsville lined the footpath as we marched down to the quay.
E D A
This clipping from the paper shows us young and strong and clean.
F#m E D A
And there's me in my slouch hat with my SLR and greens.
E D
God help me, I was only nineteen.
[Verse 2]
A C G D
From Vung Tau riding Chinooks to the dust at Nui Dat,
A G A
I'd been in and out of choppers now for months.
A C G D
But we made our tents a home. V.B. and pinups on the lockers,
A G A
And an Asian orange sunset through the scrub.
[Chorus 2]
E D A
And can you tell me, doctor , why I still can't get to sleep?
E D A
And night time's just a jungle dark and a barking M.16?
F#m E D A
And what's this rash that comes and goes, can you tell me what it means?
E D
God help me, I was only nineteen.
[Verse 3]
A C G D
A four week operation, when each step can mean your last one
A G A
On two legs: it was a war within yourself.
A C G D
But you wouldn't let your mates down 'til they had you dusted off,
A G A
So you closed your eyes and thought about something else.
[Chorus 3]
E D A
Then someone yelled out "Contact"', and the bloke behind me swore.
E D A
We hooked in there for hours, then a God almighty roar.
F#m E D A
Frankie kicked a mine the day that mankind kicked the moon.
E D
God help me, he was going home in June.
[Verse 4]
A C G D
1 can still see Frankie, drinking tinnies in the Grand Hotel
A G A
On a thirty-six hour rec. leave in Vung Tau.
A C G D
And I can still hear Frankie, lying screaming in the jungle.
A G A
'Till the morphine came and killed the bloody row
[Chorus 4]
E D A
And the Anzac legends didn't mention mud and blood and tears.
E D A
And stories that my father told me never seemed quite real
F#m E D A
I caught some pieces In my back that I didn't even feel.
E D
God help me, I was only nineteen.
[Chorus 5]
E D A
And can you tell me, doctor , why I still can't get to sleep?
E D A
And why the channel 7 chopper chills me to my feet.
F#m E D A
And what's this rash that comes and goes, can you tell me what it means?
E D A
God help me, I was only nineteen.
