Soldier Of Misfortune

My grandpa fought in the First World War
my daddy died in World War II
they fought the good fight for freedom's sake
so I will do my duty too.

The leering face of my Uncle Sam
his finger's pointing right at me
I need you now, son, in Vietnam
to do my dirty work for me....and make 'em free!

Yeah, free to slave away for my democracy
free to make my shoes and drink my Coca Cola
well let me ask you this
what price is freedom? I'll tell you what price....
the lowest we can get

Dawn patrol---was a rainy night
rumors of the enemy
we got caught in a firefight
two men down in front of me
I'm spraying lead from my M-16
like water from a garden hose
shooting shapes in the morning mist
I thought I shot my deadly foes...how could I know?

As I run through the jungle
to see what it was I killed
oh my God! A mother and her baby child
What have I done?
'cause these people ain't no fucking Nazis
this is just their home

Brother in arms
I fear it's too late
a babe in her arms
my smoking gun has sealed their fate
and it's too late

So now I hang from a jungle tree
captured by the Vietcong
steely knives smiling up at me
they split my guts and now they're gone
I done them wrong

Wrong to see so many people
die for ill-thought ideas
sucked up and spit out by the war machine
you tell me some wars are just...I guess
but let me tell you this
most are just war

A vision beckons me beyond the pain
endorphins carry me to a higher plain
I'm tripping harder than I ever have before
oh, future's locked away I open up the door
to more misfortune
I'm a solider of misfortune

I see my nephew now grown to be a man
he is a soldier too, but in the desert sand
oh no!
shot full of holes
he's bleeding on the ground
I hope his cause was just and not another round
of more misfortune
He's a soldier of misfortune.