I Was Only 19

Intro: 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
(1t was 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 footpath as we marched down to the quay.
       E                              D                    A
This clipping from the paper shows us young and strong and clean.
    Gbm              E                  D       A
And there's me in my slouch hat with my SLR and greens.
    E                  Gbm  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
But 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?
Gbm                       E                       D               A
And what's this rash that comes and goes, can you tell me what it means?
E                     Gbm  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 something else.
 
Chorus 3:
E                                           D               A
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.
Gbm              E                 D                  A
Frankie kicked a mine the day that mankind kicked the moon.
E                                 D
God help me, he was going home in June.
 
Verse 4:
A              C                 G              D
1 can still see Frankie, drinking 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
'Till 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 stories that my father told me never seemed quite real
Gbm                  E                 D           A
I caught some pieces In my back that I didn't even feel.
    E                  Gbm  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 7 chopper chills me to my feet.
Gbm                       E                       D               A
And what's this rash that comes and goes, can you tell me what it means?
    E                       D            A
God help me, I was only nineteen.