| "I Was Only 19" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Redgum | ||||
| from the album Caught in the Act | ||||
| A-side | "I Was Only 19" | |||
| B-side | "Yarralumla Wine" | |||
| Released | March 1983 | |||
| Recorded | February 1983 | |||
| Genre | Australian folk | |||
| Length | 4:19 | |||
| Label | Epic, CBS | |||
| Songwriter(s) | John Schumann | |||
| Producer(s) | Trevor Lucas | |||
| Redgum singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"I Was Only 19" (also known as "Only 19" or "A Walk in the Light Green") is a song by the Australian folk group Redgum.[1] The song was released in March 1983 as a single, which hit number one on the national Kent Music Report Singles Chart for two weeks.[2] It was also recorded for Redgum's live album Caught in the Act (Epic Records), released in June,[3] which stayed in the top 40 of the Kent Music Report Albums Chart for four months.[2] Royalties for the song go to the Vietnam Veterans Association of Australia.[4] It is in the Australasian Performing Right Association's Top 30 Australian Songs of all time.[5][6] "I Was Only 19" became the most widely recognised song by the band.
The song is a first-person account of a typical Australian soldier's experience in the Vietnam War, from training at a military academy in Australia to first hand exposure to military operations and combat, and ultimately his return home disillusioned and suffering from both PTSD and, it is implied, the harmful effects of Agent Orange.[7][8]
Redgum's lead vocalist-guitarist, John Schumann, wrote the song based on experiences he heard from veterans, particularly Mick Storen (his brother in-law) and Frankie Hunt. The mine experiences in the story pertain to an incident during Operation Mundingburra on 21 July 1969 of which Storen experienced.[9][1][4] Schumann has said that "the power derives from the detail, provided by my mate and brother-in-law, Mick Storen, who was brave and trusting enough to share his story with me."[10][11]
For the live version, Schumann explained the title, "A Walk in the Light Green", as referring to operational patrols in areas marked light green on topographical maps, where dark green indicated thick jungle, plenty of cover and few land mines and light green indicated thinly wooded areas, little cover and a high likelihood of land mines.
In January 2018, as part of Triple M's "Ozzest 100", the 'most Australian' songs of all time, "I Was Only 19" was ranked number 20.[12]
- ^ a b ""I Was Only 19" at APRA search engine". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Archived from the original on 25 July 2011. Retrieved 30 October 2008.
- ^ a b Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book Ltd. ISBN 0-646-11917-6. NOTE: Used for Australian Singles and Albums charting from 1974 until ARIA created their own charts in mid-1988. In 1992, Kent back calculated chart positions for 1970–1974.
- ^ "Redgum". Passagen.se. Australian Rock Database (Magnus Holmgren). Archived from the original on 20 February 2012. Retrieved 30 April 2014.
- ^ a b Schumann, John (August 2006). "I was only 19 - The John Schumann story" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 July 2008. Retrieved 28 October 2007.
- ^ "Dimensions Episode 20: John Schumann". Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). 18 June 2003. Archived from the original on 20 May 2007. Retrieved 2 November 2007.
- ^ Kruger, Debbie (2 May 2001). "The songs that resonate through the years" (PDF). Australasian Performing Right Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 May 2008. Retrieved 2 November 2007.
- ^ Tuoi, Tre (6 September 2006). "John Schumann – an artist of anti-war songs". VietNamNet Bridge. Archived from the original on 28 March 2007. Retrieved 3 November 2007.
- ^ Schumann introduces the live version of the song with an explanation including "...it's about two mates of mine who went to Vietnam, came back Agent Orange victims...".
- ^ 'A Day From Hell' URL: http://tunnelrats.com.au/pdfs/militarymedalwinners/PhilBaxterMM.pdf Archived 7 March 2021 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Schumann, John (2004). "Redgum – Against The Grain album insert" (Document). Sony Music.
- ^ Miller, E: "The Sun", page 23. Academic Press, 2005
- ^ "Here Are The Songs That Made Triple M's 'Ozzest 100'". Musicfeeds. 27 January 2018. Retrieved 4 January 2020.