Intro – Black Wall

[Intro] (spoken)
In 1986, I became associated & involved with the Vietnam Veterans' Parade Committee, which, um, put together the largest Vietnam veterans' parade in the history of America, right here in this city. It happened, really, because I had written a song called "Black Wall", which is about the memorial. Are there, got any veterans here tonight? And, um, my brother-in-law Chuck was a, um, Marine vet from Vietnam, who was supposed to be here tonight, but, uh, he became ill the last two or three weeks. He's been in the hospital, so obviously, we wish Chuck a very speedy recovery 'cause he's just, he's so pissed that he's not here. But this is for him and all the veterans of that war

[Verse 1]
I was lucky you know
I wasn't there
And I didn't have to go and face my fear
But still this hidden pain
Comes up from the belly of the beast
And even ten years past
We're haunted now from both sides of the truth
And the ghosts of Dien Bien Phu
Dien Bien Phu

[Verse 2]
This war keeps hanging on
As if it were today
'Cause many a good men died
On the road from Tet to Hue
They won every battle they fought
But the one that raged at home
And now the only words that count
Are the names carved out in stone
As tears fall onto stone

[Chorus]
Black Wall, Black Wall
Black Wall, Black Wall
Whoa, whoa, whoa whoa

1, 2, 3, 4

[Chorus]
Black Wall, Black Wall
Black Wall, Black Wall
Whoa, whoa, whoa whoa

[Verse 3]
Sound the bugle boy
For a twenty-one gun salute
Call for the ticker tape
And assemble all the troops
Not a word about dominoes
Or the horrors of napalm
Let Johnny come marching home
And greet him with a prayer and a psalm
For the boys of Vietnam
The boys of Vietnam
Let him, let him
I said let him
Oh, let Johnny come back to the world

[Outro]
Back to the world

Back to the world
Back to the world