A-side "I Was Only Nineteen" Released March 1983 Genre Australian folk | B-side "Yarralumla Wine" Recorded February 1983 Length 4:19 | |
"Only Nineteen", "I Was Only Nineteen" or "A Walk in the Light Green" is the most widely recognised song by Australian folk group Redgum. The song was released in March 1983 as a single, which hit number one on the national Kent Music Report Singles Chart for two weeks. It was also recorded for Redgum's live album Caught in the Act (Epic Records) released in June, which stayed in the top forty of the Kent Music Report Albums Chart for four months. Royalties for the song go to the Vietnam Veterans Association of Australia. It is in the Australasian Performing Right Association's Top 30 Australian Songs of all time.
Contents
The song is a first-person account of a typical Australian infantry regular soldiers experience in the Vietnam War, from training in Australia to first hand exposure to military operations and combat, and ultimately his return home disillusioned, psychologically scarred and possibly suffering from the effects of the chemical defoliant Agent Orange.
Contrary to popular belief, the subject of this song is a volunteer member of the Australian Army, and not a conscript. Australian men did not become eligible for conscription until 21.
Redgum's lead vocalist-guitarist, John Schumann, wrote the song based on experiences he heard from veterans — particularly Mick Storen (his brother in-law) and Frankie Hunt: "The power derives from the detail, provided by my mate and brother-in-law, Mick Storen, who was brave and trusting enough to share his story with me." — John Schumann
For the live version, Schumann explained the title, "A Walk in the Light Green", as referring to operational patrols in areas marked light green on topographical maps, where dark green indicated thick jungle, plenty of cover and few land mines and light green indicated thinly wooded areas, little cover and a high likelihood of land mines.
Impact
The Australian Vietnam Veterans' "Welcome Home Parade" was held in Sydney on 3 October 1987 and was followed by a concert in The Domain where Redgum's Schumann performed his song with veteran Frank Hunt on stage. From this parade, a desire for a War Memorial to commemorate Vietnam Veterans grew into fruition with the Memorial's dedication in October 1992. Australian Vietnam Forces National Memorial was constructed in Anzac Parade, Canberra in 1992 and includes a "Wall of Words": "Stele B, the northern or right-hand stele, is adorned with a series of 33 quotations fixed in stainless steel lettering." Amongst the quotations is:
A "normal language" explanation of each quote has been included, courtesy of the late Brigadier Alf Garland:
At the 40th-year commemoration of the Battle of Long Tần, 18 August 2006, veterans were accompanied by Australian Ambassador Bill Tweddle at the Long Tan Cross; following the commemoration a concert was held at Vũng Tàu where Schumann (and The Vagabond Crew) sang "I Was Only Nineteen." He also introduced Long Tần veteran Storen as the source for the song. For an SBS TV special Vietnam Nurses (2005), director Polly Watkins chose "Redgum and John Schumann's song 'Only Nineteen' during the Welcome Home Parade in 1987 because it is integral to one of the nurses' stories." Frank Hunt provides an account of his Vietnam experiences, titled "I Was Only Nineteen", in Gina Lennox' book Forged by War (August 2006).
After Schumann had received letters of request from active soldiers in Afghanistan and East Timor he sought permission to visit the troops but obtained no answer. A reporter published an article on the situation, authorities gave permission for Schumann to tour East Timor in December 2009 and entertain Australian and New Zealand troops. In September–October 2011 he played for Australian troops in Afghanistan.
In 2015, Lee Kernaghan recorded the song for his album Spirit of the Anzacs. That same year, the song was added to the Sounds of Australia Registry at the National Film & Sound Archive (NFSA).
Lyrics glossary
The lyrics include words, terms and place names particular to Australia and Vietnam:
Covers
When the song was first released, Rick Melbourne, a breakfast radio announcer, produced a parody version of the song, including the lyrics "God help me, she told me she was sixteen". Australian country singer John Williamson recorded a live version as "Only 19" and released it on his 1984 vinyl LP, The Smell of Gumleaves (rereleased in 1996 as a CD under the title Home Among the Gum Trees).
The song's and album's producer, Trevor Lucas, performed his version as a member of his United Kingdom-based group Fairport Convention at the 1985 Cropredy Festival. On the show Fast Forward, Gina Riley, in character as Eleanor LaGore, performed a swing version of the song.
The song was covered by Australian Army Band The Lancer Band in 2015 in the lead up to ANZAC Day. The cover gained positive widespread attention in the media. [1] It differed from most covers as it was performed by soldiers and sung by a female soldier.
In 2005 a hip hop version of the song (called "I was Only 19") was produced by The Herd, voted in at #18 in the 2005 Triple J Hottest 100 playlist.
This song also plays a symbolic role in the 2006 book World War Z by Max Brooks.
Track listing
- "I Was Only Nineteen (A Walk in the Light Green)" (John Schumann) - 4:19
- "Yarralumla Wine" (Michael Atkinson) - 2:33
Personnel
Single version "I Was Only Nineteen" (March 1983) – 4:19
Only Schumann and McDonald of Redgum played on this track:
Caught in the Act live version, "I Was Only 19 (A Walk in the Light Green)" (1983) – 5:57
Schumann introduces the song and explains the phrase 'A Walk in the Light Green' which he gives as its title. Recorded at The Rose, Shamrock and Thistle Hotel (aka Three Weeds Hotel) in Rozelle, New South Wales:
2013 re-release
John Schumann released the song as an acoustic single on iTunes to commemorate 30 years since the song's original release. The single was the version recorded for the 2008 Vagabond Crew album Behind The Lines.