Van of Valor

(Verse 1)
The jungle was bleedin’, the firebase was through
The jungle was bleedin’, the firebase was through
They called me dead on that hill, but N.V.A. woke me new
Hands bound tight, a blindfold on my eyes
Hands bound tight, a blindfold on my eyes
Started walkin’ with a hole in my chest, under ‘Nam skies

(Verse 2)
Two Southern boys, one more American face
Two Southern boys, one more American face
Sergeant First Class Salley stood in that damned place
They fed him more rice, gave me the peel and the scorn
They fed him more rice, gave me the peel and the scorn
Said a Black man can’t lead, from a propaganda thorn

(Verse 3)
They beat us both daily, for the rank we wouldn’t swap
They beat us both daily, for the rank we wouldn’t swap
‘Til the lies got so heavy, they broke my brother’s top
He leaned on my shoulder, though mine was shattered bone
He leaned on my shoulder, though mine was shattered bone
Then they made me dig his grave, on that trail alone

(Chorus)
Oh, forty days of mud and blood, and a chest that wouldn’t fill
Forty days of mud and blood, and a chest that wouldn’t fill
Carried a bullet in my back, and a soul they couldn’t kill

(Verse 4)
Monsoon came sloshin’, fever in my brain
Monsoon came sloshin’, fever in my brain
Talked to ghosts in the banyan roots, kissed my wife in vain
I stitched my skin with banana thread, learned to breathe in sips
Stitched my skin with banana thread, learned to breathe in sips
Became the wound, became the walk, felt the spirit slip

(Verse 5)
The camp rose from the jungle, bamboo, wire, and star
The camp rose from the jungle, bamboo, wire, and star
Two years of night waited behind that prison bar
Seven hundred fifty-five days, still to pay
Seven hundred fifty-five days, still to pay
But the walkin’ was the first hell, they’d put upon my way

(Outro)
Yeah, I walked for Salley… walked for the ones who fell…
Walked with a suckin’ chest wound… straight through Vietnam’s hell…
And when they say “Prisoner of War”… they don’t know the half…
Of forty days marchin’… with a ghost and a bloody laugh…