Cold Chisel - Khe Sanh Lyrics

I left my heart to the sappers 'round Khe Sanh
And the soul was sold with my cigarettes to the blackmarket man
I had the Vietnam cold turkey from the ocean to the Silver City
And it's only other vets could understand

About the long forgotten dockside guarantees
How there were no V-Day heroes in 1973
How we sailed into Sydney Harbor, I saw an old friend but I couldn't kiss her
Well, she was lined, and I was home to the lucky land

Well, she was like so many more from that time on
Their lives were all so empty 'until they found their chosen one
And their legs were often open, but their minds were always closed
And their hearts were held in fast suburban chains

And the legal pads were yellow, hours long, pay-packets lean
And the telex writers clattered where the gunships once had been
Car parks make me jumpy, and I never stopped the dreams
Or the growing need for speed and Novocain

So I worked across the country from end to end
Tried to find a place to settle down, where my mixed up life could mend
I held a job on an oil rig, flyin' choppers when I could
Oh, but the nightlife nearly drove me 'round the bend

And I've traveled 'round the world from year to year
And each one found me aimless, one more year the worse for wear
And I've been back to Southeast Asia, and the answer sure ain't there
But I'm drifting north, to check things out again, yes, I am

Well, the last plane out of Sydney's almost gone
And only seven flying hours, and I'll be landing in Hong Kong
And there ain't nothing like the kisses from a jaded Chinese princess
I'm gonna hit some Hong Kong mattress all night long

Well, the last plane out of Sydney's almost gone
You know the last plane out of Sydney's almost gone
And it's really got me worried, I'm goin' nowhere and I'm in a hurry
You know the last plane out of Sydney's almost gone

Well, the last plane out of Sydney's almost gone
You know the last plane out of Sydney's almost gone
No, it's really got me worried, I'm goin' nowhere and I'm in a hurry
You know the last plane out of Sydney's almost gone