Khe Sahn

- Cold Chisel

Return to today's cartoon

Like Waltzing Matilda, Khe Sahn is arguably Australia's national anthem, at least as far as pub rock goes. A story about an Australian Vietnam veteran returning home, it was originally banned from airplay when first released. Of course, that meant everybody bought it to hear what was so bad, and it became almost an instant classic.

Khe Sahn

I left my heart to the sappers 'round Khe Sahn
And I sold my soul with my cigarettes to the black market man.
I've 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 back in 1973
And how we sailed into Sydney Harbour, I saw an old friend but I couldn't kiss her.
She was lined and I was home to the lucky land.

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 gun-ships once had been.
The car parks made me jumpy and they never stopped the dreams
Or the growing need for speed and novacaine.

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 found a job on an oil rig, flying choppers when I could
But the night life nearly drove me round the bend.

So I travelled 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, but the answer sure ain't there
So I'm drifting north to check things out again.



Well the last plane out of Sydney's almost gone.
Another 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.

You know 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 going nowhere and I'm in a hurry.
You know the last plane out of Sydney's almost gone.

You know 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 going nowhere and I'm in a hurry.
You know the last plane out of Sydney's almost gone.

This song is featured in the School Spirit comic during an assembly one morning.

Download a midi file of Khe Sahn that I put together based on the way I play it on the piano.

Unfortunately I was unable to locate an mp3 file of this song.


School Spirit is hosted on Comic Genesis, a free webhosting and site automation service for webcomics.