G F G F

[Verse 1.]
G                   F
Farewell my wistful Saigon bride
G                F
I'm going out to stem the tide
Em                 Dm
A tide which never saw the seas
Em                        Dm
It flows through jungles, round the trees
Em                    Dm
Some say it's yellow, some say red
Em                  Dm        C    Em
It will not matter when we're dead

[Verse 2.]
G                 F
How many dead men will it take
G                    F
To build a dike that will not break?
Em                Dm
How many children must we kill
Em                 Dm          C
Before we make the waves stand still?

[Verse 3.]
G               F
Though miracles come high today
G                  F
We have the wherewithal to pay
Em                    Dm
It takes them off the streets you know
Em                   Dm
To places they would never go alone
Em            Dm
It gives them useful trade
Em            Dm         C       Em
The lucky boys are even paid

[Verse 4.]
G             F
Men die to build their Pharoah's tombs
G                       F
And still and still the teeming wombs
Em               Dm
How many men to conquer Mars
Em               Dm         C      Em G F G F
How many dead to reach the stars?

[Verse 5.]
G            F
Farewell my wistful Saigon bride
G             F
I'm going out to stem the tide
Em                   Dm
Some say it's yellow, some say red
Em              Dm            C
It will not matter when we're dead