Lyrics

[HUEY FLYBY — 4–6 SEC]

[SPOKEN — YOUNG RICK, RADIO FILTER]

You're listening to the American Forces Vietnam Network in Da Nang, coming to you from Monkey Mountain on 850 AM and 99.9 FM. This is Specialist Rick, here with you for the next hour, spinning the records you've been asking for and bringing you a little piece of home. All right, let's spin the first one.

[VINYL CUE — BAND IN]

[VERSE 1]

I was just a kid from Boston
in an Army uniform,
Half a world from everything
I'd ever called my own.

Headphones pressed against my ears,
My fingers on the board,
A stack of records by my side
and that red light by the door.

Outside there was a war going on,
Choppers crossing overhead.
Inside I had a microphone
And a thousand things unsaid.

So I opened up that channel,
Took a breath and carried on,
Trying to give another soldier
Three minutes somewhere beyond Vietnam.

[CHORUS]

I was spinning a little piece of home,
Sending music where I couldn't go.
A hometown street, a Friday night,
A girl somebody left behind.

Three minutes at a time
We could leave that war alone.

I couldn't stop what waited outside,
But I could spin
A little piece of home.

[RADIO BREAK — HUEY UNDER]

Quick weather check for Da Nang: hot and humid again today, with a pretty good chance of rain later on. Keep the poncho handy, and if you've found some shade, hang onto it. All right, here's another one you asked for.

[VINYL CUE]

[VERSE 2]

Some were listening from a bunker,
Some from somewhere down the line.
Some were fixing up a Huey,
Some were pulling watch at night.

Most of us were barely grown men,
Though we wouldn't say it then.
We joked about tomorrow
Like tomorrow was guaranteed again.

And every time a request came in,
I knew what they were asking me:

"Play something from before all this.
Play something that still sounds like me."

So I'd cue another record,
Watch that needle settle down,
And for a few short minutes
We weren't half a world from town.

[CHORUS]

I was spinning a little piece of home,
Sending music where I couldn't go.
A kitchen light, a baseball game,
A mother's voice saying your name.

Three minutes at a time
We could leave that war alone.

I couldn't stop what waited outside,
But I could spin
A little piece of home.

[SPOKEN — DEDICATION]

I've got a dedication for one of the guys listening out there tonight. Your mom says everybody back home is doing fine, your dad's still arguing with the television, and your sister keeps stealing your room. She says your place at the table is waiting, she loves you, and she wants you home safe. This one's for you.

[VINYL CUE]

[VERSE 3]

More than half a century later,
I can still see that little room.
The turntables and the headphones,
The needles dropping into grooves.

Some names have faded with the years,
Some faces never will.
Sometimes when the house gets quiet,
I can hear that station still.

And I see that young Specialist
Sitting there behind the glass,
Not knowing which of those moments
Would be the ones that always last.

I want to tell that younger me,
"Keep talking through the night.

Some soldier out there needs that song.

So keep that signal alive."

[BRIDGE]

We all served in different ways,
We all carried something through.

Some carried rifles through the jungle,
I carried records into rooms.

And maybe music couldn't end a war,
Couldn't make the fear disappear,

But sometimes one familiar song
Could make home feel almost near.

[KEY CHANGE — FINAL CHORUS]

So keep spinning that little piece of home,
Send it anywhere that signal goes.

To the men out in the darkness,
To the ones who feel alone.

Three minutes at a time,
Give 'em somewhere else to go.

We couldn't stop the war outside...

But for one song...

We could bring them home.

[RADIO SIGN-OFF — HUEY UNDER]

That's gonna do it for me today. Thanks for spending some time with me. To everybody out in the field, in the air, pulling watch, or wherever this signal happens to find you, take care of yourself and the guy next to you. This is Specialist Rick with AFVN Da Nang. I'll be back tomorrow with more of the music you've been asking for. Until then, keep your head down and keep the faith. See you on the radio.

[HUEY FADES — SHORT OUTRO]