Australian Vietnam War Song - I Was Only 19

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Description

"Only 19", "I Was Only 19" or "A Walk in the Light Green" is the most widely recognised song by Australian folk group Redgum. The song was released in March 1983 as a single, which hit number one on the national Kent Music Report Singles Chart for two weeks. It was also recorded for Redgum's live album Caught in the Act (Epic Records) released in June, which stayed in the top 40 of the Kent Music Report Albums Chart for four months. Royalties for the song go to the Vietnam Veterans Association of Australia. It is in the Australasian Performing Right Association's Top 30 Australian Songs of all time.

The song is a first-person account of a typical Australian soldier's experience in the Vietnam War, from training at a military academy in Australia to first hand exposure to military operations and combat, and ultimately his return home disillusioned and suffering from both PTSD and, it is implied, the harmful effects of Agent Orange.

Redgum's lead vocalist-guitarist, John Schumann, wrote the song based on experiences he heard from veterans, particularly Mick Storen (his brother in-law) and Frankie Hunt. Schumann has said that "the power derives from the detail, provided by my mate and brother-in-law, Mick Storen, who was brave and trusting enough to share his story with me."

For the live version, Schumann explained the title, "A Walk in the Light Green", as referring to operational patrols in areas marked light green on topographical maps, where dark green indicated thick jungle, plenty of cover and few land mines and light green indicated thinly wooded areas, little cover and a high likelihood of land mines.

In January 2018, as part of Triple M's "Ozzest 100", the 'most Australian' songs of all time, "I Was Only 19" was ranked number 20.

Lyrics:
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
It was me who drew the card
We did Canungra and Shoalwater before we left

And Townsville lined the footpaths
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
And 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?
What's this rash that comes and goes
Can you tell me what it means?
God help me
I was only nineteen

And 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
'Til they had you dusted off
So you closed your eyes and you thought about something else

Then someone yelled out "Contact, front"
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

I can still see Frankie drinking tinnies in the Grand Hotel
On a thirty-six hour rec leave in Vung Tau
And I can still hear Frankie lying screaming in the jungle
'Til the morphine came and killed the bloody row

And the Anzac legends didn't mention mud and blood and tears
And the 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 get to sleep?
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