I Was Only 19 (A Walk in the Light Green)

Annotation

The track "I Was Only 19" (Epic Records # ES 844) reached # 1 in the Australian singles chart (Kent Music Report), one of the most successful Australian Vietnam War songs. It dealt with the negative impact of war on the soldier. Written by John Schumann, born 18 May 1953 in Adelaide, Australia, leader singer of Redgum, formed in 1975, Adelaide, and disbanded in 1990. Other member included on this record were: Hugh McDonald (violin, vocals), Brian Czempinski (drums), Trevor Lucas (backing vocals), and Peter Coughlin (bass guitar).1. John Schumann based it largely on the experiences of the Vietnam war veteran Mick Storen (his brother-in-law). Schumann noted as a teenager in the late 1960s his friends being drafted to fight the war: "They left as wide-eyed, grinning Australian lads, pushing and shoving and joking at their embarkation leave parties. They were returned to us as damaged goods - sullen, disconnected and with the trade-mark thousand yard stare". He soon developed an anti-war perspective in the early 1970s: "the popular movement against the Vietnam war gained traction. It wasn’t too long before a clear majority of Australians, including me, opposed it". But not into the late 1970s and early 1980s did attention grow to the plight of the veterans. At which point, Schumann said that "I entertained the idea of writing these blokes a song".2 The royalties of the song go to the Vietnam Veterans Association of Australia. The group also recorded a live version on the 1983 album Caught in the Act (Epic # ES 864). Narrated in the first person, it started with a young, innocent nineteen year old taking part in a military march in Australia, just before being shipped to Vietnam, and then "in and out of choppers" across the land, where "each step could mean your last one on two legs". This seemed a long way from the stories of the previous generations, who fought in the First and Second World Wars: "the Anzac legends didn't mention mud and blood". So after the war, back in Australia, the veteran started to suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), unable to sleep, thinking of the dark jungles and "barking M16... I can still hear... screaming in the jungle". He also recalled drinking with his friend Frankie at the Grand Hotel in Vung Tau, a seaside city in South Vietnam during R&R, before being shot and killed in the jungle. There was also a reference to the use of Agent Orange: "Agent Orange sunset through the scrub" - the herbicide used by the US government, which had long-term negative health affects, an issue that gained more attention in the 1980s. Other references to note: the line "parade at Puckapunyal... we did Canungra and Shoalwater before we left" - Puckapunyal is a training facility in Victoria, Canungra is a small town in Queensland, with a large military base, while Shoalwater is a bay, also in Queensland, a major military training area during Vietnam. The line "there's me in me slouch hat with me SLR". A slouch hat, also known as Aussie bush hat is a distinctive Australian hat that has one side of the brim turned up or pinned to the side of the hat, often used in the military.3 SLR was the L1A1 Self-Loading Rifle, used by Australian forces in Vietnam.4 The line "from Vung Tau to the dust at Nui Dat" - Nui Dat was where the 1st Australian Task Force (1 ATF) was based in South Vietnam, and Vung Tai was where the 1st Australian Logistics Support Group was headquartered, and popular for R&R. This song provided an important representation of the loss of innocence for a nineteen year old, whose life changed because of the war. It brought attention to the plight of the Australian Vietnam veteran. Sources1Wikipedia: I Was Only 19↩2I Was Only Nineteen (John Schumann)↩3Wikipedia: Slouch hat↩4Wikipedia: L1A1 Self-Loading Rifle↩

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Annotation — Australian & New Zealand Songs

The track "I Was Only 19" (Epic Records # ES 844) reached # 1 in the Australian singles chart (Kent Music Report), one of the most successful Australian Vietnam War songs. It dealt with the negative impact of war on the soldier. Written by John Schumann, born 18 May 1953 in Adelaide, Australia, leader singer of Redgum, formed in 1975, Adelaide, and disbanded in 1990. Other member included on this record were: Hugh McDonald (violin, vocals), Brian Czempinski (drums), Trevor Lucas (backing vocals), and Peter Coughlin (bass guitar).1 John Schumann based it largely on the experiences of the Vietnam war veteran Mick Storen (his brother-in-law). Schumann noted as a teenager in the late 1960s his friends being drafted to fight the war: "They left as wide-eyed, grinning Australian lads, pushing and shoving and joking at their embarkation leave parties. They were returned to us as damaged goods - sullen, disconnected and with the trade-mark thousand yard stare". He soon developed an anti-war perspective in the early 1970s: "the popular movement against the Vietnam war gained traction. It wasn’t too long before a clear majority of Australians, including me, opposed it". But not into the late 1970s and early 1980s did attention grow to the plight of the veterans. At which point, Schumann said that "I entertained the idea of writing these blokes a song".2 The royalties of the song go to the Vietnam Veterans Association of Australia. The group also recorded a live version on the 1983 album Caught in the Act (Epic # ES 864). Narrated in the first person, it started with a young, innocent nineteen year old taking part in a military march in Australia, just before being shipped to Vietnam, and then "in and out of choppers" across the land, where "each step could mean your last one on two legs". This seemed a long way from the stories of the previous generations, who fought in the First and Second World Wars: "the Anzac legends didn't mention mud and blood". So after the war, back in Australia, the veteran started to suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), unable to sleep, thinking of the dark jungles and "barking M16... I can still hear... screaming in the jungle". He also recalled drinking with his friend Frankie at the Grand Hotel in Vung Tau, a seaside city in South Vietnam during R&R, before being shot and killed in the jungle. There was also a reference to the use of Agent Orange: "Agent Orange sunset through the scrub" - the herbicide used by the US government, which had long-term negative health affects, an issue that gained more attention in the 1980s. Other references to note: the line "parade at Puckapunyal... we did Canungra and Shoalwater before we left" - Puckapunyal is a training facility in Victoria, Canungra is a small town in Queensland, with a large military base, while Shoalwater is a bay, also in Queensland, a major military training area during Vietnam. The line "there's me in me slouch hat with me SLR". A slouch hat, also known as Aussie bush hat is a distinctive Australian hat that has one side of the brim turned up or pinned to the side of the hat, often used in the military.3 SLR was the L1A1 Self-Loading Rifle, used by Australian forces in Vietnam.4 The line "from Vung Tau to the dust at Nui Dat" - Nui Dat was where the 1st Australian Task Force (1 ATF) was based in South Vietnam, and Vung Tai was where the 1st Australian Logistics Support Group was headquartered, and popular for R&R. This song provided an important representation of the loss of innocence for a nineteen year old, whose life changed because of the war. It brought attention to the plight of the Australian Vietnam veteran. Sources1Wikipedia: I Was Only 19↩2I Was Only Nineteen (John Schumann)↩3Wikipedia: Slouch hat↩4Wikipedia: L1A1 Self-Loading Rifle↩

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Lyrics

English: Mum and Dad and Denny saw the passing out parade at Puckapunyal / It was a long march from cadets / The sixth battalion was the next to tour and it was me who drew the card / We did Canungra and Shoalwater before we left / And Townsville lined the footpaths as we marched down to the quay / This clipping from the paper shows us young and strong and clean / And there's me in me slouch hat with me SLR and greens / God help me - I was only nineteen From Vung Tau riding Chinooks to the dust at Nui Dat / I'd been in and out of choppers now for months / And we made our tents a home, V.B. and pinups on the lockers / And an Asian orange sunset through the scrub / And can you tell me, doctor, why I still can't get to sleep? / And night time's just a jungle dark and a barking M.16? / And what's this rash that comes and goes, can you tell me what it means? / God help me - I was only nineteen A four week operation, when each step can mean your last one on two legs / It was a war within yourself / But you wouldn't let your mates down 'til they had you dusted off / So you closed your eyes and thought about somethin' else / And then someone yelled out "Contact", and the bloke behind me swore / We hooked in there for hours, then a God almighty roar / And Frankie kicked a mine the day that mankind kicked the moon / God help me - he was goin' home in June And I can still see Frankie, drinkin' tinnies in the Grand Hotel / On a thirty-six hour rec. leave in Vung Tau / And I can still…

Notes

Produced by Trevor Lucas; Redgum Music; matrix MX202514. The label notes that artist royalties were donated to the Vietnam Veterans of Australia. Epic ES 844, side A, 45 R.P.M., blue label, ℗ 1983 CBS Records Australia Limited; marked "Australian Performance – Australian Composition"; "Sound recording made by CBS Records Australia Limited — first published ℗ in Australia 1983"; "Made in Australia". [From the record sleeve and labels]

About the artist

Formed 1975, Adelaide, SA, Australia. Disbanded 1990.

Themes

ANZUS · PTSD · Agent Orange · Drugs

In collections

Australian & New Zealand Songs · PTSD Songs