re: "Goodnight Saigon" - GOAT song for Vietnam War?

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Paint it Black



I think is about depression... not necessarily Vietnam. But it is at the end of Full Metal Jacket.

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Was also the theme song for the 80's show Tour of Duty.

Not originally an anti-war song but it became one so I'm not sure if that counts, "For What It's Worth" by Buffalo Springfield

Ohio by Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young is pretty solid also.

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I thought that was just about drugs.

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Well like ya man, but drugs and Vietnam go hand in hand. Imagine a chopper is hovering overhead BLASTING that thru loudspeakers while you are high on 6 hits of acid and walking through rice patties in the jungles of nam during a torrential downpour and the gooks are popping up left and right shooting at you while you are seeing your friends getting shot and bleeding out, gooks heads evaporating in red mist, grenades are exploding, everyone is screaming, thousands of rounds a minute are going off all around you, airstrikes are being called in and bombs are going off and all of this is happening as you are peaking!!! HEAVY shite MAN!

That is what I think about but others break it down like this:

Although this song refers to Drugs many many times, it is not, for the most part about drugs. This song is about the Vietnam War/protest.

One pill makes you larger....... This set of lyrics refers to the choice between protesting (making you a big person) versus joining the war (making you a small, ie insignificant person), and adding that your parents can do nothing to help you make the choice. "Go ask alice when she's ten feet tall" refers to not fitting in and being disruptive as alice does when she grows large in the book.

If you go chasing rabbits........... this set of lyrics refers to getting drafted "a hookah-smoking caterpiller refers to a tank. The caterpiller, ie tank has given you THE call not a call, and at the time THE call most definitely refers to getting drafted. Go ask alice when she was just small refers to the small pill choice and how much danger alice was in when she was small.

When the men on the chessboard get up and tell you where to go... this set of lyrics refers to when the military (chess pieces, ie knights, pawns etc. are military pieces) tells you to go to vietnam (where to go at the time) and your mind is moving low refers to not knowing what to do.

Call Alice I think she'll know: When logic and proportion have fallen sloppy dead... this set of lyrics is specifically about the vietnam war. refering to the large amount of men killed in the war (sloppy swamp setting) the white knight talking backwards (he doesn't talk backwards in the book) refers the United states army stating that it's coming to the rescue not making sense, ie talking backwards, and the red queen refers to the communist who are killing all our men (off there heads)

This next line is a little confusing until you read the "who stole the tarts chapter" the line IS remember what the dormouse said. This is confusing because it is referencing the Mad Hatter. The Mad Hatter is on the witness stand and faces execution if he can't "remember what the dormouse said" As a result he runs away before the queen of Hearts, ie the red queen has a chance to chop of his head.

Feed your head is not what the dormouse said. It's telling you to educate yourself. You feed your head by learning. Said twice for emphasis. The last line is pleading with the listener to LEARN!LEARN!!

Song was written in response to National Guard shooting at Kent State. Great tune though!

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Song was written in response to National Guard shooting at Kent State. Great tune though!

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I know that, it was a protest of the Vietnam war. I think it fits.

"For what's it worth" is one of my favorite Vietnam era songs.

It's on Forrest Gump soundtrack. It starts at the perfect time in the movie, just seconds before the firefight.

Goodnight Saigon - I agree is GOAT

Still in Saigon - CDB

Fortunate Son

Run Through the Jungle (for the rare CCR double play)

That's the top of my Vietnam War list.

(Honorable mention, surprisingly good is Huey Lewis' "Walking on a Thin Line".)