Phil Ochs — Talking Vietnam Blues

[Verse 1] Sailing over to Vietnam Southeast Asian Birmingham Well training is the word we use Nice word to have in case we lose Training a million Vietnamese To fight for the wrong government and the American Way [Verse 2] Well they put me in a barracks house Just across the way from Laos They said you're pretty safe when the troops deploy But don't turn your back on your house boy When they ring the gong Watch out for the Viet Cong [Verse 3] Well the sergeant said it's time to train So I climbed aboard my helicopter plane We flew above the battle ground A sniper tried to shoot us down He must have forgot, we're only trainees Them Commies never fight fair [Verse 4] Friends, the very next day we trained some more We burned some villages down to the floor Yes, we burned out the jungles far and wide Made sure those red apes had no place left to hide Threw all the people in relocation camps Under lock and key, made damn sure they're free [Verse 5] Well, I walked through the jungle around the bend Who should I meet but the ghost of President Diem Said you're fighting to keep Vietnam free For good old Diem-ocracy That means rule by one family And fifteen thousand American troops Give or take a few Thousand American Troops [Verse 6] He said, "I was a fine old Christian man Ruling this backward Buddhist land Well, it ain't much but what the heck It sure beats hell out of Chiang Kai-shek I'm the power elite Me and the Seventh Fleet" [Verse 7] He said, "Meet my sister, Madame Nhu The sweetheart of Dien Bien Phu" He said, "Meet my brothers, meet my aunts With the government that doesn't take a chance Families that slay together, stay together." [Verse 8] Said, "If you want to stay you'll have to pay Over a million dollars a day But it's worth it all, now don't you see? If you lose the country you'll still have me Me and Syngman Rhee, Chiang Kai-shek, Madame Nhu Like I said on Meet the Press 'I regret that I have but one country to give for my life.'" [Verse 9] Well now old Dien is gone and dead All the new leaders are anti-red Yes they're pro-American, freedom sensations Against Red China, the United Nations Now all the news commentators and the CIA Are saying, "Thank God for coincidence."