Intro: A5 G5 D5 (x2) A5 Said goodbye to his mama as he left South Dakota G5 D5 To fight for the red, white and blue A5 He was 19 and green with a new M-16 G5 D5 Just doin' what he had to do A5 He was dropped in the jungle where the choppers would rumble G5 D5 With the smell of napalm in the air A5 G5 Then the sergeant said, look up ahead A5 Like a dark evil cloud 1200 came down G5 D5 On him and 29 more A5 They fought for their lives but most of them died G5 D5 In the 173rd airborne A5 On the 8th of November the angels were cryin' G5 D5 As they carried his brothers away A5 With the fire raining down and the hell all around G5 D5 There were few men left standing that day F5 G5 Saw the eagle fly through a clear blue sky F5 G5 A5 G5 D5 1965, the 8th of November A5 Now he's 58 and his ponytail's gray G5 D5 But the battle still plays in his head A5 He limps when he walks but he's strong when he talks G5 D5 Bout the shrapnel left in his leg A5 He puts on a gray suit over his airborne tattoo G5 D5 And he ties it on one time a year A5 (one strum ) And remembers the fallin' as he order's a tall one G5 D5 Swallows it down with his tears A5 G5 D5 F5 (one strum ) G5 (one strum ) Saw the eagle fly through a clear blue sky F5 G5 (one strum each) 1965 x2 (1st 4 lines then whole thing) A5 Said goodbye to his mama as he left South Dakota G5 D5 To fight for the red, white and blue A5 He was 19 and green with a new M-16 G5 D5 Just doin' what he had to do
