Khe Sanh

I left my heart to the sappers round Khe Sanh
And my soul was sold with my cigarettes to the blackmarket man
I've had the Vietnam cold turkey
From the ocean to the Silver City
And it's only other vets could understand

About the long forgotten dockside guarantees
How there were no V-day heroes in 1973
How we sailed into Sydney Harbour
Saw an old friend but couldn't kiss her
She was lined, and I was home to the lucky land

And she was like so many more from that time on
Their lives were so empty, till they found their chosen one
And their legs were often open
But their minds were always closed
And their hearts were held in fast suburban chains
And the legal pads were yellow, hours long, paypacket lean
And the telex writers clattered where the gunships once had been
But the car parks made me jumpy
And I never stopped the dreams
Or the growing need for speed and novocain

So I worked across the country from end to end
Tried to find a place to settle down, where my mixed up life could mend
Held a job on an oil-rig
Flying choppers when I could
But the nightlife nearly drove me round the bend

And I've travelled round the world from year to year
And each one found me aimless, one more year the more for wear
And I've been back to South East Asia
But the answer sure ain't there
But I'm drifting north to check things out again

You know the last plane out of Sydney's almost gone
Only seven flying hours, and I'll be landing in Hong Kong
There ain't nothing like the kisses
From a jaded Chinese princess
I'm gonna hit some Hong Kong mattress all night long

Well the last plane out of Sydney's almost gone
Yeah the last plane out of Sydney's almost gone
And it's really got me worried
I'm goin' nowhere and I'm in a hurry
And the last plane out of Sydney's almost gone

Well the last plane out of Sydney's almost gone
Yeah the last plane out of Sydney's almost gone
And it's really got me worried
I'm goin' nowhere and I'm in a hurry
And the last plane out of Sydney's almost gone


So I was frantically trying to memorise these lyrics two days before the Melbourne Marathon on 7 October 2007. At the 32.2km mark I tried singing the above verses. The breath was capable but the memory was still lacking, so I trotted out about four verses and forgot the others. More success though with 'Me and Bobby McGee'. Although Khe Sanh felt more in tune with the marathon pace.

With a time of 3:08:57 I was satisfied at finishing under my target time of 3:09:54. Probably the finishing burst in the G had something to do with the slightly faster than predicted time. And those Khe Sanh lyrics were silently playing long before they were enunciated at the 32.2km marker. Once the marathoners were split from the half marathoners at about the 13km mark, I managed to obtain some semblance of rhythm and with no wind to speak of I felt I was on a winner. MM08 is already pencilled into the 2008 running calendar.