Tom: A
| 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
(It was a 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 footpaths 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 me slouch hat with me SLR and greens.
E E F#m 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
And 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 somethin' else.
[Chorus 3]
E D A
And 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
And Frankie kicked a mine the day that mankind kicked the moon.
E D
God help me, he was going home in June.
[Interlude]
| A C | G D | A G | A |
[Verse 4]
A C G D
And I can still see Frankie, drinkin' 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
'til 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 the 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 E F#m 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 Seven 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
God help me, I was only nineteen.
