Still in Saigon


"Still in Saigon", is a song written by Dan Daley and performed by the Charlie Daniels Band and released on their 1982 album Windows. It was written by Daley in May 1981.
The song is a portrayal of the plight of the American Vietnam veteran a decade after the war; it was part of an early 1980s wave of attention to the subject, presaging treatments such as Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the U.S.A." and "Shut Out the Light", Billy Joel's "Goodnight Saigon", Huey Lewis and the News' "Walking on a Thin Line", Paul Hardcastle's "19" and somewhat later Steve Earle's "Copperhead Road".

Content

The story is told ten years after the protagonist faced being drafted into the Vietnam War. Though he could have avoided being sent, believing he was "brought up differently/I couldn't break the rules" elected to go ahead and serve.
He remained in the military for "thirteen months and fifteen days", with the latter portion taking an emotional toll on Daniels. The emotional problems only worsened upon his return, as he came home to a bitterly divided family - his war-protesting younger brother labels him a "killer" while his father calls him a "vet". Moreover, he began to exhibit signs of post-traumatic stress disorder resulting from his service ; symptoms which ten years later continue to plague him.

Chart performance