Goodnight Saigon Chords

From:   Peter Eybert [pjoe@charon.muc.de]
Sent:   Saturday, January 03, 1998 8:54 AM
Song:   Goodnight Saigon
 
by Billy Joel
from "The Nylon Curtain",1982
transcribed by Peter Eybert
 
[Intro]
F  Dm  Bb  G
 
           Dm            Dm7    C
We met as soul mates on Parris Island,
           Dm           Dm7 C
we left as inmates from an asylum.
            Em    Am           Em     Am
And we were sharp, as sharp as knives
            Dm            Dm/C         G       C G
and we were so gung-ho to lay down our lives.
 
           Dm           Dm7      C
We came in spastic like tameless horses,
           Dm         Dm7      C
we left in plastic as numbered corpses.
               Em  Am         Em     Am
And we learned fast to travel light, 
              Dm            C            Bb      G  Dm  G
our arms were heavy but our bellies were tight.
 
          Dm             Dm7    C
We had no home front, we had no soft soap.
             Dm            Dm7     C
They sent us Playboy, they gave us Bob Hope.
          Em Am            Em     Am
We dug in deep and shot on sight
              Dm                F          G       C G
and prayed to Jesus Christ with all of our might.
 
          Dm         Dm7       C
We had no cameras to shoot the landscape
              Dm            Dm7        C
we passed the hash pipe and played our Doors tapes.
           Em  Am           Em     Am
And it was dark, so dark at night
            Dm                     Dm/C
and we held on to each other, like brother to brother,
   Bb           F6/A         G
we promised our mothers we'd write.
 
             F      Bb     C       C7
And we would all go down together,
             F      Bb     C       C7
we said we'd all go down together,
              F      Bb     G       F Dm C
yes, we would all go down together.
 
         Dm          Dm7   C
Remember Charlie, remember Baker,
                Dm           Dm7   C
they left their childhood on every acre.
            Em   Am            Em     Am
And who was wrong? And who was right?
          Dm            C            Bb     G
It didn't matter in the thick of the fight.
 
Am Em       C   Dm     E    Dm Dm7 E
We held the day in the palm of our hand.
Am   Em        C     Dm      E     Dm         C+
They ruled the night and the night seemed to  last
E  C    E  Dm           Dm7    C
as long as six weeks on Parris Island.
            Dm              Dm7      C
We held the coastline, they held the highlands,
              Em    Am           Em     Am
and they were sharp, as sharp as knives,
               Dm                  Dm/C
they heard the hum of motors, they counted the rotors
    Bb         F6/A     G
and waited for us to arrive.
 
             F      Bb     C       C7
And we would all go down together,
             F      Bb     C       C7
we said we'd all go down together,
              F      Bb     G       F Dm Bb
yes, we would all go down together.
 
G  F Dm Bb ...
X