I Was Only 19 The Herd (Ft. John Schumann)

[Verse 1: Ozi Batla]
Mum, Dad, and Denny were some amongst many
Who came to watch the passing out parade at Puckapunyal
Seemed every man and his mongrel came to watch 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 assured
Seemed half of Townsville turned out to see us leave
And they lined the footpaths as we marched to the quay
And the papers wrote it up like you wouldn't believe
But we were only looking to the future for fast reprieve
And there's all of us looking young, strong and clean
Rocking slouch hats, slung SLRs and greens
God help me, I was only nineteen

[Verse 2: Ozi Batla]
From Vung Tau in black helicopters
Chinook pilots seemed relieved at Nui Dat when he dropped us
Seems 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 of chicks off TV
The heat, the mosquitoes and the noise surprising
Like the first time you see an agent orange horizon