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Date: Wed, 1 Nov 1995 21:29:31 +0000 (GMT) From: "Rev. Linda Slug" <dal23@hermes.cam.ac.uk> Subject: Born on the 4th July Here are the chords and words to the Tom Paxton song "Born on the fourth of July", written about the Viet Nam veteran Ron Kovic, who was paralysed in the war. It is based on Kovic's autobiography of the same name, which in turn has been made into a film starring Tom Cruise. I thought that if you're going to bother having any Tom Paxton on your guitar file you might at least have one of his better, though less well-known songs, instead of just rubbish like the Marvellous Toy. Born On The Fourth Of July - Tom Paxton C Em F G C Em F G
As a Cschoolboy I played with a Emplastic grenade It was Fgrey and with Gcaps it was Cloaded In the Fdirt we would cry and draCmatically Amdie As it Fflew through the Gair and exCploded As a Eyoung man my dream was to Ambe a marine My Fflag was worth all I could Gbring it The Ccountry was young. When the Emanthem was sung It Fgave me the Ggoosebumps to Csing it
I was Fborn on the fourth of JuCly FNo-one more loyal than GI When my Ccountry said so I was Emready to go And I Fwish I'd been Gleft there to Cdie
Em F G When I landed in Nam I was with Uncle Sam I was fighting for God and my mother And I knew what to do when my first tour was through I signed up and went back for another But it all tumbled down when we ambushed the town In the night how the metal was flying We blew it to hell. Really did our job well, But just women and kids did the dying I was born on the fourth of July No-one more loyal than I When my country said so I was ready to go And I wish I'd been left there to die In the damn DMZ it all ended for me The fighting broke out and we scattered One shot hit my heel, the last thing I feel The next hit my spine and it shattered In my hospital bed I could hear what was said And the word will stay with me forever With my whole life ahead, my body was dead And the word they were using was never Now I wheel myself down to the crossroads of town To see the young girls and their lovers And my mind is afire, it's alive with desire Christ, I'd barely begun, now it's over In my wheelchair for life, my mechanical wife I'm supposed to be cheerful and stoic I'm your old tried-and-true, Yankee Doodle to you Clean-cut, paralysed and heroic Chords and words transcribed by David Linley <dal23@hermes.cam.ac.uk> Please send any comments or mistakes to me.