Napalm Sticks to Kids

"Napalm Sticks to Kids" is a call and response running cadence once occasionally used in the U.S.military. The earliest recorded example is from 1972. A third verse version is found in final draft the movie An Officer and a Gentleman, but only two verses made it into the film. The line of "Dow Chemical don't give a shit" was changed to "chemical service don't...", most likely to avoid liability.

This ironic song was influenced by the Pulitzer Prize-winning photo taken in June 1972, showing Vietnamese children fleeing from a South Vietnamese Air Force napalm attack.

We shoot the sick, the young, the lame,
We do our best to maim,
Because the kills all count the same,
Napalm sticks to kids.

Chorus: Napalm sticks to kids,
Napalm sticks to kids.

Flying low across the trees,
Pilots doing what they please,
Dropping frags on refugees,
Napalm sticks to kids.

Goods in the open, making hay,
But I can hear the gunships say,
"There'll be no Chieu Hoi today,"
Napalm sticks to kids.

See those farmers over there,
Watch me get them with a pair,
Blood and guts just everywhere,
Napalm sticks to kids.

I've only seen it happen twice,
But both times it was mighty nice,
Shooting peasants planting rice,
Napalm sticks to kids.

Napalm, son, is lots of fun,
Dropped in a bomb or shot from a gun,
It gets the gooks when on the run,
Napalm sticks to kids.

Drop some napalm on a farm,
It won't do them any harm,
Just burn off their legs and arms,
Napalm sticks to kids.

CIA with guns for hire,
Montagnards around a fire,
Napalm makes the fire go higher,
Napalm sticks to kids.

I've been told it's not so neat,
To catch gooks burning in the street,
But burning flesh, it smells to sweet,
Napalm sticks to kids.

Children sucking on a mother's tit,
Wounded gooks down in a pit,
Dow Chemical doesn't give a shit,
Napalm sticks to kids.

Bombadiers don't care a bit,
Just as long as the pieces fit,
When you stuff the bodies in a pit,
Napalm sticks to kids.

Eighteen kids in a No Fire Zone,
Rooks under arms and going home,
Last in line goes home alone,
Napalm sticks to kids.

Chuck in a sampan, sitting in the stern,
They don't think their boats will burn,
Those damn gooks will never learn,
Napalm sticks to kids.

Cobras flying in the sun,
Killing gooks is lots of fun,
Get one pregnant and it's two for one,
Napalm sticks to kids.

Shoot civilians where they sit,
Take some pictures as you split,
All your life you'll remember it,
Napalm sticks to kids.

NVA are all hard core,
Flechettes never are a bore,
Throw those PSYOPS out the door,
Napalm sticks to kids.

Gather kids as you fly over town,
By throwing candy on the ground,
Then grease 'em when they gather 'round,
Napalm sticks to kids.

Recorded versions

• 1972. We Say No To Your War! About this sound sample LP recorded by The Covered Wagon Musicians. Sung by Sergeant John Boychuck with guitar.
• Gravedigger album by Janus
• Scene from An Officer and a Gentleman

References

• Lyrics on Digital Tradition Page
• Burke, Carol. 1989. "Marching to Vietnam," Journal of American Folklore 102(406): 424-441.

The Lonely Soldier: The Private War of Women Serving In Iraq. Helen Benedict, Beacon Press, p. 37