I was 17 when I quit school the year that I enlisted
I don’t recall just why I did, my mom says I insisted
I had some strange idea then that Uncle Sam was right
Momma cried, she signed the card and I went off to fight

But I just found out this morning, the doctor told me so
They killed me in Vietnam and I didn’t even know

Got off the plane in Vietnam, it didn’t look like war
With all I saw I started wondering what we came there for
Some officers got drunk at night and cheated on their wives
While those peasants on the other side were fighting for their lives

You know the army tried some fancy stuff to bring them to their knees
Like Agent Orange defoliants to clear the brush and trees
They fly all day above the trails through clouds of poison spray
But they never said that chemicals would hurt our health today

But I got the news this morning, the doctor told me so
They killed me in Vietnam and I didn’t even know

Well I tried hard to forget that war like everybody else did
I settled down, got married and I even had some kids
Our children both had birth defects, the doctors had their doubts
They never said what caused it but I think I just found out

Because I just found out this morning, the doctor told me so
They killed me in Vietnam and I didn’t even know

The doctor says I have some time, he was trying to be kind
Your know I’ve never been a radical but this has changed my mind
I’d be so proud to hear my son say: "Hell no we won’t go
Because you killed our dad in Vietnam and he didn’t even know"

This Agent Orange from Vietnam, we carry with us still
Stays inside for years and years, it does its best to kill
You might get cancer of the liver, you might get cancer of the skin
You might get a VA disability, you might not live to win

Because I got the news this morning, the doctor told me so
They killed me in Vietnam and I didn’t even know
They killed me in Vietnam and I didn’t even know