1982 Songs: Goodnight Saigon

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When the heat index is nearing 100 before you get out of bed it’s a good indication to stay inside. While inside I can watch beach cameras and listen to music. That includes things from 1982, which was forty years ago now. Dang, I remember when these came out! Here’s another song from 1982…although, like most of the other songs on the list, you probably won’t hear this one on classic rock today. Goodnight Saigon - Billy Joel Gee, I think Billy got upset over the negative reviews of Glass Houses because he followed it up with a powerhouse album. While you may remember “Allentown” or “Pressure” from that album, this one may have slipped by. Despite the length (seven minutes), this was released as a single. And it’s painful for me to listen to. No, I don’t know a single person listed on the Vietnam Memorial Wall. But my brother went into the Navy in 1971. Plus, I was old enough to see the way the veterans were being treated as they returned. Yes, kiddies, there was a time when military personnel were despised in this country. For doing their job. The politicians who sent them out to do that job, however, kept getting re-elected. Bastages (as JJ says). Anyway, Joel took the perspective of a Marine recruit from Paris Island to “the thick of the fight” in Vietnam in this gripping song. What always gets me about this song is whenever Joel does it live he gets veterans (and, after 9/11, first responders) to join him onstage (if you watch [or fast forward] to the end of the linked video below, Joel goes to each veteran who sang and thanked them personally) to sing the chorus of “and we would all go down together.” Because that’s our promise to one another. No brother left behind. Goodnight Saigon Written by Billy Joel Recorded by Billy Joel From The Nylon Curtain, 1982 (Today’s 1972 song: “Everybody Plays the Fool”) The sent us Playboy, they gave us Bob Hope: