nobody knew where all the ships came from and nobody much cared
nobody knew what the other guy was thinking and nobody
much cared home or wife or clap or hootch or flight or
pain or hate or love or tomorrow or yesterday nobodymuchcared
and nobody much cared

the ships were painting yellowredgreenblue curves in the night
with their tracers it was as if they had to get rid of them
now that the warwasover and you didn't need bullets and jeeps
and planes and guns and men and men and men that lived
and men that died were you lucky if you lived or were you
lucky if you died and nobodymuchcared if you livedordied

let's get going and not waste time thisispeaceyouknow
and the girls are free tonight they say if you'd lived or did you
die

the beach was wet and the water wetter and your mind was moist
with joy or was it hate or loss or whatwegonnadonow and your
dampmoist mind slipped out over the harbor slinked between the ships
and the tracers and outtosea and back to August 14 and what did
they say unconfirmedreports have been received in Geneva
authorative sources Potsdam warns that no officialword
has been and you are directed to exercise all necessary
planes will fly as scheduled and be on the alert for will
fly as scheduled over the wettkk beach and the wetter water

WVLT your armedforcesradiostation on Leyte will
continue broadcasting until someofficialwordindicates I'll
beseeing you in all those unconditional surrender the old
familiar places what was it that did it the bombs the reds the
29's

Jesus what would it be like in the States in Frisco to hell with
Frisco which this heart of mine embraces who would have
thought it would come like this with the evening spread out
against the sky let's be careful tomorrow boys my old man
used to talk about guys who got killed

the day before the armistice was signed all night
through we waited and we waited not in vain in rain that dripped
from the wings and spattered and splashed and spattered splashed

somewhere a voice is calling to me if they don't
watch out somebody'll get hurt one plane blew up at
Tanawan one guy got blinded for life and they shot the flares
into the air somewhere a voice is calling that he would
still blast any goddam jap ship outta the ocean

away above the chimney tops that's what happens when
you stick your neck out where do we go from here boys where
do we go to Okinawa with tent pegs pyramidal tents all
planes as scheduled remember what the first one was fought
for and now there is the Russians

the tracers with red/yellow/green/blue streaks are
searching for a final resting place bluebirds fly
somewhere over turn over and go to sleep for I am princess

me down to sleep the Lord my God our help in ages ago
the world was at war

we'll be the last or we'll be the first and you
know which it will be somebody has to stay but you'd like to
go home for a day only we'll not be the last and we'll not be
the first over the rainbow why then oh why oh gotosleep but
he did not return and look who helped him with his pleated pants
and flying glasses he did not return and not a tear nor a whimper
among the ferns