A SOLDIER'S QUEST

I wonder if I'll have a home,
A place to call my own,
Or forever wander through this world,
A soldier all alone.

How sick I am of loneliness.
It bores me to no end!
I long for a sweetheart's soft caress;
A girl to take my hand.

I loved a girl and she loved me.
This was once upon a time.
Another land, another day,
Our parting was a crime.

So now I answer Freedom's call;
I'm a patriot, tried and true.
But empty longing fills my heart.
Loneliness makes me blue.

The Monsoon howls around my hootch,
As I pray for another chance
To court the girls of another world
And sing of sweet romance.

I'm a soldier of fortune in Viet Nam.
To my buddies, I'm a happy guy.
But I lost my true love long ago.
Within my mind, I cry.

They gave me a medal the other day
For courage in the enemy's face.
But what do I have when the medals are won?
I long for my own little place.

Many a trooper must leave his love
When the flames of war shall burn.
But after their tour, they'll all go back,
While I've no place to return.

I'll tramp the continents of the Earth,
Bound to a vagabond life,
Unless by the Hand of God, I'm led
To a girl who'll be my wife.

A woman to call my very own,
And a son to carry my name
Mean more than money, medals, and tales
Of war and travel and fame.

Words and Music: ©Copyright 1970 by John R. Mallernee

Author’s Note: Written in 1970 at Camp Eagle, Republic of Viet Nam, while serving with the 101st Airborne "Screaming Eagles"