May Day!
.
In May of 1985 the American television and press people were allowed back into Saigon, now Ho Chi Minh City, for the first time since 1975 when the American-backed regime was toppled as a result of a decades-long revolutionary struggle for self-determination.
The anchormen roam your countryside...............The people are so poor
Go To:
For ‘stories’,.....................................................You tell us
But they long for the city
For the familiar, anything American –.................They don’t have consumer goods
A rusting tank, a firebase,..................................You tell us
Or, of course, for the Saigon
Of their glory days............................................There are no prostitutes
.......................................................................You tell us
They all end up in Saigon
To explain it is not at all the same.......................There's no place
The name, even the name..................................To have a good time
Has changed;.....................................................Like those good ol' times
And it sounds somehow foreign now....................When the war raged
Not the sing-song of ‘Saigon’,..............................Just a suburb away
Befitting the lingo,..............................................When the bombs leveled the land
But now,...........................................................While you drink gin
The strident, marching Marxist sound...................On Tu Dő Street
Of “Ho-Ho-Ho-Chi-Minh...................................When you complained of the heat,
The NLF is gonna win!”.....................................And found it tough to stay awake
.........................................................................During the 'Five O'clock Follies'
Yes, we flew their flag........................................When the generals and politicians
On the streets of Amerika,...................................And diplomats told you about
Former soldiers, once draped...............................The daily 'body count' and
In the Red, White, and Blue!...............................The 'light at the end of the tunnel' or
We came home feeling like..................................That we were 'turning the corner' and
Viet Cong in Saigon,............................................Years later
Our cities no longer ours,.....................................When 'peace was at hand'.
And angry with a short fuse.
.........................................................................Vietnam, you still slay me
Amerika, you hated us........................................Though ten years has come and gone
For what you had us do.......................................Since our last soldiers left Saigon.
.........................................................................Some of us are suiciding
And now the networks........................................A few of us are still deciding
And the press preside..........................................Most of us are just surviving....
To tell us that Saigon
Is not the same
........................................................................- by Mark S. Foley