Khe Sanh is an Australian rock song, written by Don Walker and recorded by Cold Chisel in 1978. Told in the first person, Walker’s lyrics describe the frustrated and unsettled life of a returned Vietnam veteran. He arrives home to a thankless country (“there were no V-Day heroes in 1973”), takes up several unsatisfying jobs and struggles with drug addiction. The song ends with the former soldier returning to south-east Asia, presumably to Vietnam, still in search of answers. Khe Sanh achieved only modest chart success on release, while its provocative lines about sex and drug use saw it banned from radio play. Khe Sahn has since become an iconic Australian song, despite its dispiriting lyrics. Ironically the Battle of Khe Sanh (1968), which the song refers in its title, was fought almost entirely by American forces; the Australian contingent in Vietnam was based much further south and not directly involved at Khe Sanh.
I left my heart to the sappers round Khe Sanh
And I sold my soul with my cigarettes to the black market man
I’ve had the Vietnam cold turkey, from the ocean to the Silver City
And it’s only other vets could understand.About the long forgotten dockside guarantees
How there were no V-day heroes in 1973. And how we
Sailed into Sydney Harbour… I saw an old friend but I couldn’t kiss her
She was lined and I was home to the lucky land.And she was like so many more from that time on
Their lives were all so empty until they found their chosen one
And their legs were often open but their minds were always closed
And their hearts were held in fast suburban chains.And the legal pads were yellow, hours long, pay packets lean
And the telex writers clattered where the gun ships once had been
And car parks made me jumpy and I never stopped the dreams
Or the growing need for speed and novocaine.So I worked across the country from end to end
Tried to find a place to settle down where my mixed up life could mend
I held a job on an oil-rig, flying choppers when I could
But the nightlife nearly drove me round the bend.And I’ve travelled round the world from year to year
And each one found me aimless, one more year the worst for wear
I’ve been back to south-east Asia, you know the answer sure ain’t there
But I’m drifting north, to check things out again.Well the last plane out of Sydney’s almost gone
Only seven flying hours and I’ll be landing in Hong Kong
And there ain’t nothing like the kisses from a jaded Chinese princess
I’m gonna hit some Hong Kong mattress all night long.Well the last plane out of Sydney’s almost gone
You know the last plane out of Sydney’s almost gone
And it’s really got me worried, I’m goin’ nowhere and I’m in a hurry
You know the last plane out of Sydney’s almost gone.Well the last plane out of Sydney’s almost gone
You know the last plane out of Sydney’s almost gone
It’s really got me worried, I’m goin’ nowhere and I’m in a hurry
You know the last plane out of Sydney’s almost gone.
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