Said goodbye to his momma
As he left SOUTH DAKOTA
To fight for the red white and blue
He was 19 and green
With a new M16
Just doin' what he had to do
He was dropped in the jungle
Where the choppers would rumble
With the smell of napalm in the air
Then the Sargent said
Look up ahead
Like a dark evil cloud
1200 came down
On him and 29 more
They fought for their lives
But most of them died
In the 173rd airborne

Chorus:
On the 8th of November
The angels were crying
As they carried his brothers away
With the fire rainin' down
And the hell all around
There were few men left standin' that day
Saw the eagle fly
Through a clear blue sky 1965
The 8th of November

Now he's 58
And his ponytail's grey
But the battle still plays in his head
He limps when he walks
But he's strong when he talks
About the shrapnel they left in leg
He puts on a grey suit
Over his airborne tattoo
And he ties it on one time a year
And remembers the fallen
As he orders a tall one
Swallows it down with his tears

Chorus

Saw the eagle fly
Through a clear blue sky 1965
65

On the 8th of November
The angels were crying
As they carried his brothers away
With the fire rainin' down
And the hell all around
There were few men left standin' that day

On the 8th of November
The angels were crying
As they carried his brothers away
With the fire rainin' down
And the hell all around
There were few men left standin' that day
Saw the eagle fly
Through a clear blue sky 1965
The 8th of November

The 8th of November (8th of November)

Said goodbye to his momma
As he left SOUTH DAKOTA
To fight for the red white and blue
He was 19 and green
With a new M16
Just doin' what he had to do