Once upon a time there was a little boy who wanted to grow upnAnd be a soldier and serve his country in whatever way he couldnHe would parade around the house with a sauce pan on his headnFor a helmet, a wooden sword in one hand and the American flag in the othernAs he grew up, he put away the things of a child but he never let go of the flagnMy name is William Calley, I'm a soldier of this landnI've tried to do my duty and to gain the upper handnnBut they've made me out a villain they have stamped me with a brandnAs we go marching onnI'm just another soldier from the shores of U.S.A.nForgotten on a battle field then thousand miles awaynWhile life goes on as usual from New York to Santa FenAs we go marching onnI've seen my buddies ambushed on the left and on the rightnnAnd their youthful bodies riddled by the bullets of the nightnWhere all the rules are broken and the only law is mightnAs we go marching onnWhile we're fighting in the jungles they were marching in the streetnWhile we're dying in the rice fields they were helping our defeatnWhile we're facing V.C. bullets they were sounding a retreatnAs we go marching onnnWith our sweat we took the bunkers, with our tears we took the plainnWith our blood we took the mountains and they gave it back againnStill all of us are soldiers, we're too busy to complainnAs we go marching onnWhen I reach my final campground in that land beyond the sunnAnd the great commander asks me, Did you fight or did you run?nI'll stand both straight and tall stripped of medals, rank and gunnAnd this is what I'll saynnSir, I followed all my orders and I did the best I couldnIt's hard to judge the enemy and hard to tell the goodnYet there's not a man among us would not have understoodnWe took the jungle village exactly like they saidnWe responded to their rifle fire with everything we hadnAnd when the smoke had cleared away a hundred souls lay deadnSir, the soldier that's alive is the only once can fightnnThere's no other way to wage a war when the only one in sightnThat you're sure is not a VC is your buddy on your rightnWhen all the wars are over and the battle's finally wonnCount me only as a soldier who never left his gunnWith the right to serve my country as the only prize I've wonnAs we go marching onnGlory, glory hallelujah glory, glory hallelujah