Tom Paxton - Talking Vietnam Potluck Blues Lyrics






[Spoken:]
"Ahhh...
Let's do that again
Do you believe that?"

Well, when I landed in Vietnam
I hardly got to see Saigon
They shaped us up and called the roll
and off we went on a long patrol
Swappin' lies, swattin' flies,
Firin' the odd shot here and there

The Captain called a halt that night
And we had chow by the pale moon light
A lovely dinner they'd planned for us
With a taste like a seat on a crosstown bus
Some of the veterans just left theirs layin' in the can
For the Viet Cong to find
Deadlier than a land mine
Hmmmm...

Naturally somebody told a joke
And a couple of the fellows began to smoke
I took a whiff as the a cloud rolled by
And my nose went up like an infield fly
The Captain, this blonde fellow from Yale looked at
me and said "What's a matter wit chu, baby?" [ghetto dialect]

Well I may be crazy, but I think not;
I swear to God that I smell pot!
But who'd have pot in Vietnam?
He said, "Whaddaya think you been sittin' on?"
These funny little plants...
Thousands of 'em.
Good God Almighty!
Pastures of plenty!

So we all lit up and by and by
The whole platoon was flyin' high
With a beautiful smile on the Captain's face
He smelled like midnight on St. Mark's Place
Cleanin' his weapon,
Chantin' sumpin' about Hari Krishna, Hari Krishna

The moment came,
As it comes to all
When I had to answer nature's call
I was stumbing around in a beautiful haze
When I met a little cat in black pj's
Rifle; ammo belt; BF Goodrich sandals
He looked up at me and said "What's a matter wit chu, baby?"
[sounding just like the Captain had]

He said we're campin' down the pass
And smelled you people blowin' grass
And since, by the smell, you're smoking trash
I brought you a taste of a special stash
Straight from Uncle Ho's victory garden
We call it Hanoi Gold.

So his squad and my squad settled down
Passin' lovely stuff around
All too soon it was time to go
The Captain got on the radio
Said "Hello headquarters?, Helloo, ahh, Headquarters?
We have met the enemy and he has been smashed!"





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Tom Paxton Talking Vietnam Potluck Blues Comments
  1. j.... e....

    I saw him do this in the Southampton Guildhall in 1968. Tom used to do a regular concert in Winchester and I also caught one of them, can't remember the year - probably too smashed!

  2. P.... K....

    Good, but far from Phil Ochs....

    P.... K....

    Very similar to Phil Ochs - "Talking Vietnam" song. They did perform together after all.

  3. T.... N....

    AND HE HAS BEEN SMAAAASHED

  4. J.... S....

    When I landed in Vietnam,
    I hardly got to see Saigon.
    They shaped us up and called the roll,
    And off we went on a long patrol.
    Swattin' flies, swappin' lies,
    Firing the odd shot here and there.

    The captain called a halt that night
    And we had chow by the pale moonlight.
    A lovely dinner they planned for us
    With a taste like a seat on a crosstown bus.
    Some of the veterans left theirs in the cans
    For the Viet Cong to find. . .
    Deadlier than a land mine.

    Well naturally somebody told a joke
    And a couple of fellas began to smoke.
    I took a whiff as a cloud rolled by
    And my nose went up like an infield fly.
    The captain, this blonde fella from Yale, said
    "What's the matter with you, baby?"

    Well, I may be crazy, but I think not.
    I'd swear to God that I smell pot.
    But who'd have pot in Vietnam?
    He said, "What do you think you're sittin' on?"
    These funny little plants, thousands of them.
    Good God Almighty... Pastures of Plenty!

    We all lit up and by and by
    The whole platoon was flying high.
    With a beautiful smile on the captain's face
    He smelled like midnight on St. Mark's Place.
    Cleaning his weapon, chanting the Hare Krishna.

    The moment came as it comes to all,
    When I had to answer nature's call.
    I was stumbling around in a beautiful haze
    When I met a little cat in black P.J.'s,
    Rifle, ammo-belt, B.F. Goodrich sandals.
    He looked up at me and said,
    "Whatsa' matta wit-choo, baby?"

    He said, "We're campin' down the pass
    And smelled you people blowin' grass,
    And since by the smell you're smokin' trash
    I brought you a taste of a special stash
    Straight from Uncle Ho's victory garden.
    We call it Hanoi gold."

    So his squad and my squad settled down
    And passed some lovely stuff around.
    All too soon it was time to go.
    The captain got on the radio. . .
    "Hello, headquarters. We have met the enemy
    And they have been smashed!"

    J.... S....

    I didnt know you listened to country.

  5. h.... ....

    Love this song but the album version is so much "tighter"! ... and "B.F.Goodrich" is way more poetic than "Dunlop".

  6. j.... e....

    Saw him do this at Southampton Guildhall nearly 50 years ago :-)

  7. D.... A....

    great witty guy love you Tom One of the best songwriters ever

  8. m.... ....

    The original version of this song mentioned "B.F. Goodrich sandals". I wonder why he changed it to "Dunlop".

    m.... ....

    To fit the meter of the song

    m.... ....

    Looks like a BBC programme so Dunlop would have more meaning to a British audience than B F Goodrich.

  9. C.... m....

    Oh, he's someone to watch! I love his intellect and I love his humor :)
    I loove it soo much, great acting comedian

  10. R.... S....

    Retrieved from the memory bank -- makes my day.

  11. J.... S....

    wonderful!! - I remember this from the time when Vietnam was live ^_^

  12. m.... ....

    Thanks for posting,have the LP but never have I seen this.