We met as soulmates
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 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