“When Barry Comes Flyin’ Home Again..” by Russ Vaughn

“Best appreciated when humming the tune of the popular Civil War song, “When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again,” or the Irish folk classic, “Johnny We Hardly Knew Ye.”
Also, with sincere apologies to my Hibernian forbears whose folk lyrics and music I keep misusing for political purposes. Somehow, however, I think their Irish eyes are smiling.” — Russ Vaughn

.

When Barry Comes Flyin’ Home Again…
When Barry was comin’ to see the troops, hooah, hooah;
The brass they made us jump through hoops, hooah, hooah.
With sand in our boots in sweat in the eye,
We stood in the sun ‘til we liked to die,
But it all was for naught, cause, “Barry we never saw ye.”
He met all the generals sure as life, hooah, hooah;
He picked their brains about the strife, hooah, hooah.
But a private soldier he never met,
He’s comin’ home an’ he still ain’t yet,
But all we can say is, “Barry we never saw ye.”
Our wounded off to Landstuhl go, hooah, hooah;
To stabilize there for America, Ho! hooah, hooah.
But Barry there ignored our troops,
To go to the gym and shoot some hoops,
So all our wounded can say is, “Barry we never saw ye.”
So this whole damned trip was just a show, hooah, hooah,
Using us troops to make it so, hooah, hooah,
He wants to be our commander in chief
But has of our mission no true belief,
So all we can say is, “Barry the devil with ye.”
When Barry comes flyin’ home agin’ hooah, hooah
We’ll remember how Barry used us then, hooah, hooah
And vote for the warrior who bore the pain,
Who earned our respect that’s John McCain,
And we’ll all be verily sayin’ “Barry we never saw ye.”
Russ Vaughn
Vietnam 65-66

….Thank you Russ.