We met as soul mates
On Parris Island
We left as inmates

From an asylum
And we were sharp
As sharp as knives

And we were so gung ho
To lay down our lives


We came in spastic
Like tameless horses
We left in plastic

As numbered corpses
And we learned fast
To travel light

Our arms were heavy
But our bellies were tight


We had no home front
We had no soft soap
They sent us Playboy

They gave us Bob Hope
We dug in deep
And shot on sight

And prayed to Jesus Christ
With all of our might


We had no cameras
To shoot the landscape
We passed the hash pipe

And played our Doors tapes
And it was dark
So dark at night

And we held on to each other
Like brother to brother
We promised our mothers we'd write

And we would all go down together
We said we'd all go down together
Yes we would all go down together


Remember Charlie
Remember Baker

They left their childhood
On every acre
And who was wrong?

And who was right?
It didn't matter in the thick of the fight


We held the day
In the palm
Of our hand

They ruled the night
And the night
Seemed to last as long as six weeks

On Parris Island

We held the coastline

They held the highlands
And they were sharp
As sharp as knives

They heard the hum of our motors
They counted the rotors
And waited for us to arrive

And we would all go down together
We said we'd all go down together
Yes we would all go down together