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Singin' In Viet Nam Talkin' Blues

Johnny Cash
Version1
90

Chords in this song

Strum
D-DU-UDU
 
 One mornin'  at breakfast I said to my wife,
 "We've been ev'rywhere  once and some places twice."
As  I had another helping of country ham, she said,
 "We ain't never been to Vietnam,
 And there's a bunch of  our boys over there."
 So  we went to the Orient, Saigon.
 Well, we got a big  welcome when we drove in
 To the gates  of a place that they call Long Ben.
 We checked  in and ev'rything got kind of quiet.
 But a soldier  boy said, "Just wait till tonight.
 Things get noisy,  things start happenin'.
 Big, bad firecrackers."
 Well, that night we  did about four shows for the boys
 And they were livin' it up  with a whole lot of noise.
 We did our  last song for the night
 And we crawled  into bed for some peace and quiet.
 But things weren't  peaceful and things weren't quiet.
 Things were scary.
 Well, for a few minutes,  June never said one word,
 And I thought  at first that she hadn't heard.
 Then a shell  exploded not two miles away.
 She sat up  in bed and I heard her say,
 "What was that?" I said,  "That was a shell or a bomb."
 She said, "I'm scared." I  said, "Me too".
 Well, all  night long that noise kept on,
 And the sound  would chill you right to the bone.
 The bullets  and the bombs and the mortar shells
 Shook our bed ev'ry time one fell and it never let up.
 It was gonna get worse before it got  any better.
 Well, when the sun came up,  the noise died down.
 We got a few minutes  sleep and we were sleepin' sound.
 Then a soldier  knocked on our door and said,
 Last night  they brought in 7 dead and 14 wounded.
 And would we come down to the base hospital  and see the boys. Yeah.
 So, we went to  the hospital ward by day
 And ev'ry night we were singin' away.
 Then the shells  and the bombs till dawn again,
 And the helicopters  brought in the wounded men.
Night  after night, day after day, comin' and  goin'.
 So, we sadly  sang for them our last song
 And reluctantly we said, "So long."
 We did  our best to let 'em know that we care
 For ev'ry  last one of 'em that's over there.
 Wether we belong  over there or not,
 Somebody over here loves 'em  and needs 'em.
 Well, now, that's about  all that there is to tell
 About that little  trip into livin' hell.
 And if I ever  go back over there anymore,
 I hope there's none of  our boys there for me to sing for.
 I hope that war is  over with
 And they all come back  home to stay in peace.

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Readable chord sheet for Singin' In Viet Nam Talkin' Blues by Johnny Cash

[G]           [G]

One morn[G]in' at breakfast I said to my wife,
"We've been [C]ev'rywhere once and some places twice."
[A7]As I had another helping of country ham, she said,
[D]     "We ain't never been to Vietnam,
And there's a bunch of[G] our boys over there."
So   [C]    we went to the Orient,     Saigon.   [D7]

Well, we got a [G]big welcome when we drove in
To the gates[C] of a place that they call Long Ben.
We chec[A7]ked in and ev'rything got kind of quiet.
But a soldi[D]er boy said, "Just wait till tonight.
Things get noisy,[G] things start happenin'.    [C]
Big, bad firecr[D7]ackers."

Well, that night [G]we did about four shows for the boys
And they were livin' it [C]up with a whole lot of noise.
We did [A7]our last song for the night
And we crawle[D]d into bed for some peace and quiet.
But things weren't[G] peaceful and things weren't      quiet.               [C]
Things were      sca[D7]ry.

Well, for a few mi[G]nutes, June never said one word,
And I     [C]thought at first that she hadn't heard.
Then a shell[A7] exploded not two miles away.
She sat [D]up in bed and I heard her say,
"What was that?" I [G]said, "That was a shell    or a bomb."         [C]
She said, "I'm scared." I[D7] said, "Me too".

Well, all[G] night long that noise kept on,
And the sound[C] would chill you right to the bone.
The bull[A7]ets and the bombs and the mortar shells
[D]      Shook our bed ev'ry time one fell and it never let up.       [G]
It was gonna get worse     before it got[C] any better.                           [D7]

Well, when the sun came u[G]p, the noise died down.
We got a few mi[C]nutes sleep and we were sleepin' sound.
Then a soldie[A7]r knocked on our door and said,
Last nigh[D]t they brought in 7 dead and 14 wounded.            [G]
And would we come down to the base h[C]ospital and see the boys.        Yeah.                            [D7]

So, we went [G]to the hospital ward by day
[C]     And ev'ry night we were singin' away.
Then the shells[A7] and the bombs till dawn again,
And the helico[D]pters brought in the wounded men.
[G]Night after night, day after day, comin' a[C]nd goin'.                [D7]

So, we sadly[G] sang for them our last song
[C]     And reluctantly we said, "So long."
We did[A7] our best to let 'em know that we care
For ev'r[D]y last one of  'em that's over there.
Wether we bel[G]ong over there or not,
Somebody over here loves '[C]em and needs 'em.            [D7]

Well, now, that's a[G]bout all that there is to tell
About that [C]little trip into livin' hell.
And if  I ever[A7] go back over there anymore,
I hope there's none of[D] our boys there for me to sing for.
I hope that war is[G] over with
And they all come bac[C]k home to stay           in peace.     [D7]              [G]

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