I Was Only 19
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"Only 19", "I Was Only 19" or "A Walk in the Light Green" is the most widely recognised song by Australian
folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...
group
Redgum Redgum were an Australian folk and political music group formed in Adelaide in 1975 by singer-songwriter John Schumann, Michael Atkinson on guitars/vocals, Verity Truman on flute/vocals; they were later joined by Hugh McDonald on fiddle and Ch ...
. The song was released in March 1983 as a single, which hit number one on the national
Kent Music Report The Kent Music Report was a weekly record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by music enthusiast David Kent from May 1974 through to January 1999. The chart was re-branded the Australian Music Report (AMR) in July ...
Singles Chart for two weeks. NOTE: Used for Australian Singles and Albums charting from 1974 until
ARIA In music, an aria (Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompanime ...
created their own
charts A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent tab ...
in mid-1988. In 1992, Kent back calculated chart positions for 1970–1974.
It was also recorded for Redgum's live album '' Caught in the Act'' (
Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, also known as SCA), is the American arm of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group ...
) released in June, which stayed in the top 40 of the Kent Music Report Albums Chart for four months. Royalties for the song go to the Vietnam Veterans Association of Australia. It is in the
Australasian Performing Right Association APRA AMCOS consists of Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) and Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS), both copyright management organisations or copyright collectives which jointly represent over 100,000 songwr ...
's Top 30 Australian Songs of all time. The song is a first-person account of a typical Australian soldier's experience in the Vietnam War, from training at a
military academy A military academy or service academy is an educational institution which prepares candidates for service in the officer corps. It normally provides education in a military environment, the exact definition depending on the country concerned. ...
in
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
to first hand exposure to
military operations A military operation is the coordinated military actions of a state, or a non-state actor, in response to a developing situation. These actions are designed as a military plan to resolve the situation in the state or actor's favor. Operations may ...
and
combat Combat ( French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent conflict meant to physically harm or kill the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed ( not using weapons). Combat is sometimes resorted to as a method of self-defense, or ...
, and ultimately his return home disillusioned and suffering from both
PTSD Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental and behavioral disorder that can develop because of exposure to a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, warfare, traffic collisions, child abuse, domestic violence, or other threats on a ...
and, it is implied, the harmful effects of
Agent Orange Agent Orange is a chemical herbicide and defoliant, one of the "tactical use" Rainbow Herbicides. It was used by the U.S. military as part of its herbicidal warfare program, Operation Ranch Hand, during the Vietnam War from 1961 to 1971. It ...
. Redgum's lead vocalist-guitarist,
John Schumann John Lewis Schumann (born 18 May 1953) is an Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist from Adelaide. He is best known as the lead singer for the folk group Redgum, with their chart-topping hit " I Was Only 19 (A Walk in the Light Green)", a so ...
, wrote the song based on experiences he heard from
veterans A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in a particular occupation or field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in a military. A military veteran that has ...
, particularly Mick Storen (his brother in-law) and Frankie Hunt. The mine experiences in the story pertain to an incident during ''Operation Mundingburra'' on 21 July, 1969 of which Storen experienced. Schumann has said that "the power derives from the detail, provided by my mate and brother-in-law, Mick Storen, who was brave and trusting enough to share his story with me." For the live version, Schumann explained the title, "A Walk in the Light Green", as referring to operational patrols in areas marked light green on topographical maps, where dark green indicated thick jungle, plenty of cover and few
land mine A land mine is an explosive device concealed under or on the ground and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets, ranging from combatants to vehicles and tanks, as they pass over or near it. Such a device is typically detonated automati ...
s and light green indicated thinly wooded areas, little cover and a high likelihood of land mines. In January 2018, as part of
Triple M Triple M is an Australian commercial radio network owned and operated by Southern Cross Austereo. The network consists of 40 radio stations broadcasting a mainstream rock music format and 5 digital radio stations. The network dates back to th ...
's "Ozzest 100", the 'most Australian' songs of all time, "I Was Only 19" was ranked number 20.


Impact

The Australian Vietnam Veterans' "Welcome Home Parade" was held in Sydney on 3 October 1987 and was followed by a concert in The Domain where Redgum's Schumann performed his song with veteran Frank Hunt on stage. From this parade, a desire for a War Memorial to commemorate Vietnam Veterans grew into fruition with the Memorial's dedication in October 1992. Australian Vietnam Forces National Memorial was constructed in Anzac Parade,
Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...
in 1992 and includes a "Wall of Words": "Stele B, the northern or right-hand
stele A stele ( ),Anglicized plural steles ( ); Greek plural stelai ( ), from Greek , ''stēlē''. The Greek plural is written , ''stēlai'', but this is only rarely encountered in English. or occasionally stela (plural ''stelas'' or ''stelæ''), whe ...
, is adorned with a series of 33 quotations fixed in stainless steel lettering." Amongst the quotations is: ;Then someone called out "contact" and the bloke behind me swore, ;and we hooked in there for hours, then a god-almighty roar. ;Frankie kicked a mine the day that mankind kicked the moon. ;God help me, he was going home in June. A "normal language" explanation of each quote has been included, courtesy of the late Brigadier Alf Garland: At the 40th-year commemoration of the Battle of Long Tần, 18 August 2006, veterans were accompanied by Australian Ambassador Bill Tweddle at the Long Tan Cross; following the commemoration, a concert was held at Vũng Tàu where Schumann (and The Vagabond Crew) sang "I Was Only 19." He also introduced Long Tần veteran Storen as the source for the song. For an SBS TV special ''Vietnam Nurses'' (2005), director Polly Watkins chose "Redgum and John Schumann's song 'Only Nineteen' during the Welcome Home Parade in 1987 because it is integral to one of the nurses' stories." Frank Hunt provides an account of his Vietnam experiences, titled "I Was Only Nineteen", in Gina Lennox' book ''Forged by War'' (August 2006). After Schumann had received letters of request from active soldiers in
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
and
East Timor East Timor (), also known as Timor-Leste (), officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is an island country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the exclave of Oecusse on the island's north-weste ...
, he sought permission to visit the troops but obtained no answer. A reporter published an article on the situation, and authorities gave permission for Schumann to tour East Timor in December 2009 and entertain Australian and New Zealand troops. Between September and October 2011, he played for Australian troops in Afghanistan. In 2015,
Lee Kernaghan Lee Kernaghan OAM (born 15 April 1964) is an Australian country music singer, songwriter and guitarist. Kernaghan has won four ARIA Awards and three APRA Awards, and has sold over two million albums, and as of 2021, has won 38 Golden Guitars at ...
recorded the song for his album '' Spirit of the Anzacs''. That same year, the song was added to the
Sounds of Australia The Sounds of Australia, formerly the National Registry of Recorded Sound, is the National Film and Sound Archive's selection of sound recordings which are deemed to have cultural, historical and aesthetic significance and relevance for Australi ...
Registry at the
National Film & Sound Archive The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA), known as ScreenSound Australia from 1999 to 2004, is Australia's audiovisual archive, responsible for developing, preserving, maintaining, promoting and providing access to a national c ...
(NFSA).


Lyrics glossary

The lyrics include words, terms and place names particular to Australia and Vietnam: *
ANZAC The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) was a First World War army corps of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force. It was formed in Egypt in December 1914, and operated during the Gallipoli campaign. General William Birdwood comma ...
: Australian and New Zealand soldiers who fought in the world wars. Originally the
Australian and New Zealand Army Corps The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) was a First World War army corps of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force. It was formed in Egypt in December 1914, and operated during the Gallipoli campaign. General William Birdwood comma ...
. *
Canungra Canungra is a rural town and locality in the Scenic Rim Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Canungra had a population of 1,229 people. Geography Located in South East Queensland, Canungra is situated in the Gold Coast hint ...
: the jungle warfare training centre near
Canungra Canungra is a rural town and locality in the Scenic Rim Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Canungra had a population of 1,229 people. Geography Located in South East Queensland, Canungra is situated in the Gold Coast hint ...
,
Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...
. * Channel Seven: Australian television network. * Chinook: Military helicopter. * Contact!: Military term indicating an encounter with the enemy. Will also contain direction of contact either contact left, contact right, contact front or contact rear. *
Dustoff Casualty evacuation, also known as CASEVAC or by the callsign Dustoff or colloquially Dust Off, is a military term for the emergency patient evacuation of casualty (person), casualties from a combat zone. Casevac can be done by both ground and ...
: Casualty evacuation by helicopter. * Greens: Jungle Green Working Dress, the field uniform worn by the Australian Army between the early 1960s and 1989. * The Grand Hotel: A hotel in Vung Tau that had been converted for Army use. * Light green: parts on a map which indicated supposedly more dangerous areas for soldiers to patrol as there was little dense foliage and cover and an area which was more likely to be mined. *
Nui Dat Nui Dat (Núi Đất) is a former 1st Australian Task Force (1 ATF) base now part of Ba Ria city in Ba Ria–Vung Tau province, Vietnam. It is not the name of an official ward, it just means "dirt hill" ( núi đất). History 1966–1972 In ...
: Village in Bà Rịa province in Southern Vietnam, and the main base of 1st Australian Task Force from 1965 to 1972. *
Puckapunyal Puckapunyal (more formally the Puckapunyal Military Area, but also known as the Puckapunyal Camp or Puckapunyal Army Base, and colloquially as "Pucka") is an Australian Army training facility and base 10 km west of Seymour, in central Vi ...
: Former Army enlisted soldier recruit training centre in Victoria. * Shoalwater: Military exercise area in Queensland. * Sixth Battalion: (aka 6RAR) Australian army battalion, whose D Company had been involved in the
Battle of Long Tan The Battle of Long Tan (18 August 1966) took place in a rubber plantation near Long Tân, in Phước Tuy Province, South Vietnam, during the Vietnam War. The action was fought between Viet Cong (VC) and People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) units ...
during a tour three years earlier. *
Slouch hat A slouch hat is a wide-brimmed felt or cloth hat most commonly worn as part of a military uniform, often, although not always, with a chinstrap. It has been worn by military personnel from many different nations including Australia, Ireland, the ...
: Parade head-dress for the Australian army. * SLR: Standard 7.62 mm
semi-automatic rifle A semi-automatic rifle is an autoloading rifle that fires a single cartridge with each pull of the trigger, and uses part of the fired cartridge's energy to eject the case and load another cartridge into the chamber. For comparison, a bolt-act ...
issued to Australian infantrymen during the Vietnam War. * Tinnies: Cans of beer. *
Townsville Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 180,820 as of June 2018, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland; it is unofficially considered its capital. Estimated resident population, 3 ...
: City in Queensland, home of the Australian Army's 3rd Brigade &
RAAF Base Townsville RAAF Base Townsville (formerly RAAF Base Garbutt) is a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) air base located in , west of Townsville in Queensland, Australia. It is the headquarters for No. 1 Wing Australian Air Force Cadets and, along with L ...
. Also at the time the embarkation point for troops shipping to Vietnam from all around Australia, because it was the biggest port in Northern Australia. * VB: Victoria Bitter (beer). Was also used as a reference to one's comrades in arms aka "Venerable Brethren." e.g: "We made our tents a home VB with pin-ups on the lockers, and an Asian orange sunset through the scrub." (A reference to the defoliant, "Agent Orange" used prolifically in Vietnam). *
Vũng Tàu Vũng Tàu (''Hanoi accent:'' , ''Saigon accent:'' ) is the largest city of Bà Rịa–Vũng Tàu province in southern Vietnam. The city area is , consists of 13 urban wards and one commune of Long Sơn Islet. Vũng Tàu was the capital of the pr ...
: Coastal city in Southern Vietnam which was the 1st Australian Logistics Support Group base and a rest area for troops based at Nui Dat.


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Certifications


Covers and Parodies

When the song was first released, Rick Melbourne, a breakfast radio announcer, produced a parody version of the song, including the lyrics "God help me, she told me she was sixteen". Australian country singer John Williamson recorded a live version as "Only 19" and released it on his 1984 vinyl LP, ''The Smell of Gumleaves'' (rereleased in 1996 as a CD under the title ''Home Among the Gum Trees''). The song's and album's producer,
Trevor Lucas Trevor George Lucas (25 December 1943 – 4 February 1989) was an Australian folk singer, a member of Fairport Convention and one of the founders of Fotheringay. He mainly worked as a singer-songwriter and guitarist but also produced many albums ...
, performed his version as a member of his United Kingdom-based group
Fairport Convention Fairport Convention are an English folk rock band, formed in 1967 by guitarists Richard Thompson and Simon Nicol, bassist Ashley Hutchings and drummer Shaun Frater (with Frater replaced by Martin Lamble after their first gig.) They started o ...
at the 1985 Cropredy Festival. On the show ''
Fast Forward To fast-forward is to move forwards through a recording at a speed faster than that at which it would usually be played, for example two times or two point five times. The recordings are usually audio, video or computer data. It is colloquially ...
'',
Gina Riley Gina Riley (born 6 May 1961) is an Australian actress, writer, singer and comedian, known for portraying Kim Craig in the television series ''Kath & Kim'', and for her work in musical theatre. Television and film Riley became a popular televisi ...
, in character as Eleanor LaGore, performed a swing version of the song. The song was covered by Australian Army Band The Lancer Band in 2015 in the lead up to ANZAC Day. The cover gained positive widespread attention in the media

It differed from most covers as it was performed by soldiers and sung by a female soldier. In 2005 a Australian hip hop, hip hop version of the song (called "I was Only 19") was produced by The Herd, voted in at #18 in the 2005
Triple J Hottest 100 The Triple J Hottest 100 is an annual music listener poll hosted by the publicly-funded, national Australian youth radio station, Triple J. Members of the public are invited to vote for their favourite Australian and alternative music of the ...
playlist. This song also plays a symbolic role in the 2006 book ''
World War Z ''World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War'' is a 2006 zombie apocalyptic horror novel written by American author Max Brooks. The novel is broken into eight chapters: “Warnings”, “Blame”, “The Great Panic”, “Turning the Ti ...
'' by
Max Brooks Maximillian Michael Brooks (born May 22, 1972) is an American actor and author. He is the son of comedy filmmaker Mel Brooks and actress Anne Bancroft. Much of Brooks's writing focuses on zombie stories. He is a senior fellow at the Modern War ...
. After
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
had hit Australia, several musicians created a
parody A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its subj ...
of the song, realising the lyrical similarity of "I was only 19" and "It was COVID-19" as well as the shared macabre nature of both topics. Among the most prominent versions were
Keir Nuttall Keir Francis Nuttall (born 1975) is a Brisbane-based guitarist-singer-songwriter. He is a founding mainstay member of the rock trio, Transport, which formed in 2001. He married Australian singer-songwriter and actor, Kate Miller-Heidke, in 2007 ...
's parody and a parody by an artist known as BOADZ. Understandably, while the nature of the parodies got a polarising response, the
dark humour Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discus ...
did not sit well with Schumann, who contacted Nuttall with a request to take down the parody. Nuttall honoured Schumann's request. The BOADZ parody remains on
Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...
, however. "I explained that I was uncomfortable about the parody because first of all it's a sacred song, to Vietnam vets particularly, and other returned servicemen and women," Schumann said. "But also the fact is that a lot of Vietnam vets are quite old now and a lot of them have compromised health. "This virus, as we know, is likely to be very, very serious for people who are old and otherwise sick."


Track listing

# "I Was Only 19 (A Walk in the Light Green)" (
John Schumann John Lewis Schumann (born 18 May 1953) is an Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist from Adelaide. He is best known as the lead singer for the folk group Redgum, with their chart-topping hit " I Was Only 19 (A Walk in the Light Green)", a so ...
) - 4:19 # "Yarralumla Wine" (Michael Atkinson) - 2:33


Personnel

Single version "I Was Only 19" (March 1983) – 4:19
Only Schumann and McDonald of Redgum played on this track: * John Schumann – lead vocals, guitar * Hugh McDonald – violin, vocals * Brian Czempinski – drums (later became a member of Redgum) * Trevor Lucas – backing vocals, producer * Peter Coughlin – bass guitar ''Caught in the Act'' live version, "I Was Only 19 (A Walk in the Light Green)" (1983) – 5:57
Schumann introduces the song and explains the phrase 'A Walk in the Light Green' which he gives as its title. Recorded at The Rose, Shamrock and Thistle Hotel (aka Three Weeds Hotel) in
Rozelle Rozelle is a suburb in the inner west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located 4 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Inner West Council. Location Rozelle s ...
,
New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...
: * Michael Atkinson – guitar, mandolin, piano, vocals * Hugh McDonald – violin, vocals * John Schumann – lead vocals, guitar * Verity Truman – flute, tin whistle, vocals * Trevor Lucas – producer * Jim Barton – engineer


2013 re-release

John Schumann released the song as an acoustic single on
iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...
to commemorate 30 years since the song's original release. The single was the version recorded for the 2008 Vagabond Crew album Behind The Lines.ABC Musi
John Schumann on ‘I Was Only 19’ - Thirty Years On + Acoustic Single
/ref>


See also

*
19 (song) "19" is a song by British musician Paul Hardcastle, released as the first single from his self-titled fourth studio album ''Paul Hardcastle'' (1985). The song has a strong anti-war message, focusing on the United States' involvement in the Vie ...
*
And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda "And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda" is a song written by Scottish-born Australian singer-songwriter Eric Bogle in 1971. The song describes war as futile and gruesome, while criticising those who seek to glorify it. This is exemplified in the s ...


References


External links


"I Was Only 19" (PDF)
at John Schumann's official website

at John Schumann's official website

at The Redgum Lyrics Archive {{Authority control 1983 singles APRA Award winners Number-one singles in Australia Anti-war songs Protest songs Songs of the Vietnam War Redgum songs 1983 songs Songs about Australia Songs about soldiers Songs about teenagers Epic Records singles CBS Records singles