Interpret:

Phil Ochs

Album:

I Ain´t Marching Anymore

Oh, I'm just a typical American boy 
From a typical American town
I believe in God and Senator Dodd 
And keeping old Castro down
And when it came my time to serve 
I knew better dead than red
But when I got to my old draft board
Buddy, this is what I said:


Sarge, I'm only eighteen, I got a ruptured spleen
And I always carry a purse
I've got eyes like a bat 
My feet are flat, my asthma's getting worse
Yes think of my career, my sweetheart dear, my poor old invalid aunt
Besides, I ain't no fool, I'm a goin' to school
And I'm working in a defense plant


I've got a dislocated disc and a racked up back
I'm allergic to flowers and bugs
And when the bombshell hits, I get epileptic fits
And I'm addicted to a thousand drugs
I got the weakness woes, and I can't touch my toes
I can hardly reach my knees
And if the enemy came close to me
I'd probably start to sneeze


I'm only eighteen, I got a ruptured spleen
And I always carry a purse
I've got eyes like a bat 
My feet are flat, my asthma's getting worse
Yes think of my career, my sweetheart dear, my poor old invalid aunt
Besides, I ain't no fool, I'm a goin' to school
And I'm working in a defense plant


Ooh, I hate Chou En Lai, and I hope he dies
But one thing you've gotta see
That someone's gotta go over there
And that someone isn't me
So I wish you well, Sarge, give 'em Hell
Kill me a thousand or so
And if you ever get a war without blood and gore
I'll be the first to go


Yes, I'm only eighteen, I got a ruptured spleen
And I always carry a purse
I've got eyes like a bat 
My feet are flat, my asthma's getting worse
Yes think of my career, my sweetheart dear, my poor old invalid aunt
Besides, I ain't no fool, I'm a goin' to school
And I'm working in a defense plant