The Lonely Dirt Road

The Lonely Dirt Road

On a lonely dirt road in the middle of a war

I was only 18 a mere kid new to this game

This game we call war, I hadn’t learned the score

This game adults play, using their kids as pawns from shore to shore

I transported pilots from Saigon to the ports

I got my first call in the summer of 68

I had not yet learned about war

Had not learned of this thing called hate

It was in the middle of a rice paddy

Just a young soldier and his pilot

Headed down that long dusty road

The pilot was my only load

We were ten miles out and no one around

It was a beautiful day, it was quiet, not a sound

Down by the river, so far out of town, it seemed like a short ride

Only a fool would venture out this far all alone

A bend in the road and a forest ahead, pretty trees all around

A shot rings out piercing the quiet, what a blood curdling sound

A hole in the windshield and a hole in his head

I looked the pilots way, was he dead?

Young soldier grabs his weapon as he looks all around

His heart is pounding, as he stays close to the ground

With his weapon in hand, would he be killed in this strange land?

He calls on his radio for help, he and a sniper the only ones around

Was this sniper alone, would others join him soon?

Was the sniper alone or an entire platoon?

Soldier checks his ammo, only one clip in his hand

Would help get there before he spilled his blood on the sand?

The radio crackled, help was on the way

But when faced with death, an hour becomes a day

He listened he waited, didn't dare breath

Would this enemy hunt him, or would he leave?

Finally after what seemed like an eternity, the sound of a chopper

A gun ship this soldier hoped

This fear was making waiting harder to cope

From his hiding place he dared not raise his scope

The chopper got closer, he heard guns blazing

The bullets cut the trees the smoke looked like a hazing

Five men jumped from the chopper with guns

He wondered; so this is how it's all done?

The soldier felt something warm on his cheek

On his cheek there was blood, flesh cut by the glass

He had not noticed any pain

He was busy concentrating so his very life he could gain

The jeep windshield had been shattered

In the frantic hail of bullets, it had not mattered

But the pilot was dead, shot through the head

The soldier thought, it could have been me instead

Young man never had never been shot at before

This experience changed him to the core

Some experiences can change you so they say

Some experiences can change your whole DNA