CHAPTER 62 - Great Music

56 years later, hearing these songs takes me back to Vietnam when I spent 14 months in hell. These are just a few of the songs we listened to, hoping we would make it home.

Sittin’ On the Dock of the Bay
Otis Redding (1968): Became iconic, bittersweet hit, co-written with Steve Cropper, recorded just days before Redding's tragic death in a 1967 plane crash, and released posthumously in 1968 as the first U.S. #1 hit single for an artist after their death, famous for its tranquil houseboat origins, unique seagull sounds, and poignant whistling outro.

We Gotta Get Out of This Place
The Animals (July 1965): Became an unofficial anthem for Vietnam War Gis, capturing their desire to escape the conflict.

Fortunate Son
Creedence Clearwater Revival (1969): Perhaps the most iconic song of the era. It resonated deeply with "grunts" because it spoke to the class divide of the draft—the "senator's sons" who didn't have to go.

Run Through the Jungle
Creedence Clearwater Revival (1970): One of the biggest hits of the era, providing a rare moment of sonic intensity that somehow brought calm and emotional release.

War
Edwin Starr (1970): A massive #1 hit in 1970. Its blunt chorus ("War! Huh! What is it good for? Absolutely nothing!") was shouted by soldiers and protesters alike.

Leaving on a Jet Plane
Peter, Paul and Mary (1969): This became the "going home" song. Even though it was a love song, the lyrics about not knowing when you'd be back again made it a staple for anyone waiting for their DEROS (Date Estimated Return from Overseas).

Those songs never really left me. Twenty-seven years after I came home, I still found myself humming them, still felt that pull when I heard them on the radio. They were more than just music—they were proof that we'd survived, that we'd felt something real in the midst of all that chaos. So when I moved to Dana Point in 1995 and picked up a KORG keyboard, I knew exactly which song I wanted to learn first. Maybe I thought I could finally do justice to what Otis Redding had given us all those years ago. Or maybe I just needed to try.

I spent weeks learning every note, every pause, every inflection. When I finally recorded myself singing it, I was proud enough to call my best friend Bob Beste for his opinion. I played it for him over the phone. There was a dead silence for a moment. Then: "You need to stick with computers." We both laughed, but he wasn't wrong. Still, I'd needed to try—to sit at those keys and pour something out, even if my voice couldn't carry what Otis's had.

(Sittin’ on) The Dock of the Bay
Song by Otis Redding - 1968

Sittin' in the mornin' sun
I'll be sittin' when the evenin' come
Watching the ships roll in
And then I watch 'em roll away again, yeah
I'm sittin' on the dock of the bay
Watching the tide roll away
I'm just sittin' on the dock of the bay
Wastin' time
I left my home in Georgia
Headed for the 'Frisco bay
I've had nothing to live for
Look like nothin's gonna come my way
So I'm just gonna sit on the dock of the bay
Watching the tide roll away
I'm sittin' on the dock of the bay
Wastin' time
Look like nothing's gonna change
Everything still remains the same
I can't do what ten people tell me to do
So I guess I'll remain the same, yes
Sittin' here resting my bones
And this loneliness won't leave me alone
It's two thousand miles I roamed
Just to make this dock my home
Now, I'm just gonna sit at the dock of the bay
Watching the tide roll away
Sittin' on the dock of the bay
Wastin' time

We Gotta Get Out Of This Place
Song by The Animals ‧ 1965

In this dirty old part of the city
Where the sun refused to shine
People tell me there ain't no use in tryin'
Now my girl, you're so young and pretty
And one thing I know is true
You'll be dead before your time is due, I know
Watch my daddy in bed a-dyin'
Watched his hair been turnin' grey
He's been workin' and slavin' his life away, oh yes I know it
And I've been workin' too, baby (yeah!)
Every night and day (yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!)
We gotta get out of this place
If it's the last thing we ever do
We gotta get out of this place
'Cause girl, there's a better life for me and you
Now my girl you're so young and pretty
And one thing I know is true, yeah
You'll be dead before your time is due, I know it
Watch my daddy in bed a-dyin'
Watched his hair been turnin' grey, yeah
He's been workin' and slavin' his life away
I know he's been workin' so hard
Every day baby (yeah!)
Whoa!
(Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!)
We gotta get out of this place
If it's the last thing we ever do
We gotta get out of this place
Girl, there's a better life for me and you
Somewhere baby,
Somehow I know it, baby
We gotta get out of this place
If it's the last thing we ever do
We gotta get out of this place
Girl, there's a better life for me and you
Believe me baby
I know it baby
You know it too