(Chorus)
Before you board that Boeing
And fly to that distant land
Following the orders
Of the politicians in command
Please just take a moment
Listen to me now
There are many, many people
Who would speak to you somehow
Our country's story did not start today
And there's some things that you should know
Otherwise these words will haunt you
Wherever you may go
There was another war
Not long before your birth
It happened in another
Far-off corner of the earth
Dictators were the masters
And the people were the slaves
And our soldiers went and buried them
In thousands of mass graves
We were on the wrong side
Supporting subjugation
And in the end the people of Vietnam
Would finally have a single nation
(Chorus)
And we said they were terrorists
Just like we do now
They're killing Americans in cafes
And they must be stopped somehow
And we were so indignant
They're not fighting fair
While we killed them in their millions
From land, sea and air
And we defoliated their forests
And they're still dead up to this day
And so many people got sick
From this Agent Orange spray
And in Hanoi or New York
On the streets and in the trains
Are the deformed children of the soldiers
Who stood beneath those planes
(Chorus)
And the soldiers came home sick
Just like in the Gulf War
Always tired, muscles aching
Joints always sore
And so many turned to drugs and drink
Maimed by what they saw
Spending half their lives
Always running from the law
Tens of thousands more
Came home to organize
They'd learned the errors of their country
Seen through the lies
They saw clearly what was wrong
They saw clearly what was right
And they threw their medals on the lawn
In their allegiance to the fight
(Chorus)
And people called them patriots
People called them traitors
While others wept and raged
Beside thirty million craters
The vets against the war
Spoke for the living and the dead
We must fight the war at home
This is what they said
It's not too late to save this nation
If I might bend your ear
And this is the time to make decisions
'Cause your reckoning is near
Know there's a higher God than Caesar
Stand up for what is right
Or be a cog in the war machine
On the wrong side of the fight
(Chorus)
Open up your mind
Understand the subtext
Before your next deployment
To whatever country's next
You're not fighting for your freedom
You're not fighting for me
You're fighting for the rich
And some oil company
And they don't care about our safety
Or our liberty
All they want is profit
And worldwide hegemony
They have hijacked the plane
And there's a building in the way
Here's your chance to be a hero
Or just an actor in their play
(Chorus)
Before you board that Boeing
And fly to that distant land
Following the orders
Of the politicians in command
Please just take a moment
Listen to me now
There are many, many people
Who would speak to you somehow
Our country's story did not start today
And there's some things that you should know
Otherwise these words will haunt you
Wherever you may go
There was another war
Not long before your birth
It happened in another
Far-off corner of the earth
Dictators were the masters
And the people were the slaves
And our soldiers went and buried them
In thousands of mass graves
We were on the wrong side
Supporting subjugation
And in the end the people of Vietnam
Would finally have a single nation
(Chorus)
And we said they were terrorists
Just like we do now
They're killing Americans in cafes
And they must be stopped somehow
And we were so indignant
They're not fighting fair
While we killed them in their millions
From land, sea and air
And we defoliated their forests
And they're still dead up to this day
And so many people got sick
From this Agent Orange spray
And in Hanoi or New York
On the streets and in the trains
Are the deformed children of the soldiers
Who stood beneath those planes
(Chorus)
And the soldiers came home sick
Just like in the Gulf War
Always tired, muscles aching
Joints always sore
And so many turned to drugs and drink
Maimed by what they saw
Spending half their lives
Always running from the law
Tens of thousands more
Came home to organize
They'd learned the errors of their country
Seen through the lies
They saw clearly what was wrong
They saw clearly what was right
And they threw their medals on the lawn
In their allegiance to the fight
(Chorus)
And people called them patriots
People called them traitors
While others wept and raged
Beside thirty million craters
The vets against the war
Spoke for the living and the dead
We must fight the war at home
This is what they said
It's not too late to save this nation
If I might bend your ear
And this is the time to make decisions
'Cause your reckoning is near
Know there's a higher God than Caesar
Stand up for what is right
Or be a cog in the war machine
On the wrong side of the fight
(Chorus)
Open up your mind
Understand the subtext
Before your next deployment
To whatever country's next
You're not fighting for your freedom
You're not fighting for me
You're fighting for the rich
And some oil company
And they don't care about our safety
Or our liberty
All they want is profit
And worldwide hegemony
They have hijacked the plane
And there's a building in the way
Here's your chance to be a hero
Or just an actor in their play
(Chorus)
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