Camouflage

Annotation

Camouflage (Ridgeway, Stan) "I was a P.F.C. on a search patrol, huntin' Charlie down My weapon jammed and I got stuck way out and all alone And I could hear the enemy movin' in close outside Just then I heard a twig snap and I grabbed my empty gun And I dug in scared while I counted down my fate And then a big Marine a giant, with a pair of friendly eyes Appeared there at my shoulder and said "Wait." When he came in close beside me, he said "Don't worry, son, I'm here If Charlie wants to tangle now, he'll have two to dodge" I said, "Well, thanks a lot!" I told him my name and asked him his And he said "The boys just call me Camouflage" Woah-oh-oh-oh, Camouflage Well, I was gonna ask him where he came from, when we heard the bullets fly Comin' through the brush, and all around our ears It was then I saw this big Marine light a fire in his eye And it was strange, but suddenly, I forgot my fears Well, we fought all night, side by side, we took our battle stance And I wondered how the bullets missed this man 'Cause they seemed to go right through him just as if he wasn't there And in the mornin' we both took a chance and ran And it was near the riverbank when the ambush came on top of us And I thought it was the end, and we were had Then a bullet with my name on it came buzzin' through a bush And that big Marine, he just swat it with his hand Just like it was a fly"

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Lyrics

English: I was a pfc on a search patrol huntin' charlie down It was in the jungle wars of '65 Whoa Camouflage, things are never quite the way they seem Whoa Camouflage, I was awfully glad to see this big marine

Notes

I.R.S. IRS-52875 (MC20864R), stereo, "Promotional only – not for sale"; "Camouflage" (S. Ridgway), 4:59 (intro :18), "From the IRS LP, IRS-5637, 'The Big Heat'"; Mondo Spartacus/Illegal Songs, Inc. (adm. by Atlantic Music Corp.) (BMI); produced by Stan Ridgway, remixed and edited by William Orbit; ℗ 1986 International Record Syndicate, Inc., © 1985 International Record Syndicate, Inc., manufactured and distributed by MCA Records, Inc., 70 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, CA. The picture sleeve front has a pencil drawing of a soldier in a helmet with the full "Camouflage" lyric printed across it; the back has a photograph of Stan Ridgway and his quote "I started thinking about the war... lumberjacks have Paul Bunyan, the folklore bit. And I just wanted to make a song that was a tribute in some way. Just a soldier story... It coulda been any of us. Governments make war, not…

About the artist

American singer Stan Ridgway (Wall of Voodoo), born 5 April 1954 in Barstow, California ('Camouflage'). [Source: Wikipedia]

Themes

Soldier's Perspective