How can I tell her with fear in her eyes
that sometimes we will follow when the sound of battle dies
How can I tell her with pale trembling face
To be glad she is a member of the human race
To walk by her tiny side, through jungle in the green
To see the smoking... where once her home has been
How can I help her, the soldier that I am
How can I help that child of Vietnam
For the sound of laughter her ears have never heard
And the cloud of full of thunder, for fear, just no word
And the streets of full of pain, and the air is full of tears
And that's the way it's always been throughout her tender years
For when she lays her head to rest on the bloody ground
A wisdom born of suffering, there on her face is found
For it's lies and greed and jealousy, yes all these things I damn
I wish that I could help that child of Vietnam
For someday, somewhere suffering must end
So won't you help it happen around the world my friend
For children are not born to be sacrificial lambs
So let's all help those helpless children of Vietnam..
that sometimes we will follow when the sound of battle dies
How can I tell her with pale trembling face
To be glad she is a member of the human race
To walk by her tiny side, through jungle in the green
To see the smoking... where once her home has been
How can I help her, the soldier that I am
How can I help that child of Vietnam
For the sound of laughter her ears have never heard
And the cloud of full of thunder, for fear, just no word
And the streets of full of pain, and the air is full of tears
And that's the way it's always been throughout her tender years
For when she lays her head to rest on the bloody ground
A wisdom born of suffering, there on her face is found
For it's lies and greed and jealousy, yes all these things I damn
I wish that I could help that child of Vietnam
For someday, somewhere suffering must end
So won't you help it happen around the world my friend
For children are not born to be sacrificial lambs
So let's all help those helpless children of Vietnam..
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Roger Thwaites, Australian contemporary folk artist, composed and released the song "Child of Vietnam" (Columbia (EMI) # SOEX-9698), which started off with gunfire sound-effects, and took an anti-war perspective. The back of the LP said: "Child of Vietnam is the story of a little girl and a soldier in the land of tears, your land, child of Vietnam". Narrated from the perspective of the soldier, who said "how can I help her", as the child rests "on the bloody ground", and the "streets full of pain". It concluded by calling on people to "help...around the world" to stop the war and suffering, for the "helpless children of Vietnam".
Vietnam War Song Project