[Intro: marching snare] [Verse 1] There's a camp up by the border where the paper maps go white, And the men who leave it carry no insignia at night. If you ask them what they're doing, they will tell you, straight and plain: "Studies and Observations, sir. We're counting rice and rain." [Chorus: male choir] One-Zero, take them over Where the ridges hide the sun, And bring them back, One-Zero, Every mother's son. [Verse 2] There were six men on the mountain when the radio went dead, With the dogs along the ridgeline and the trackers close ahead. So he sent them to the landing zone and told them not to stay, And he went back down the mountain for the man who'd lost his way. [Verse 3] He found him where the timber fell, too hurt to stand alone, And he carried him across the stream the way you'd carry your own. The water rose up to his chest and the rifles never ceased, Till the ropes came down out of the cloud and the Kingbees flew them east. [Chorus: male choir] One-Zero, take them over Where the ridges hide the sun, And bring them back, One-Zero, Every mother's son. [Verse 4] Now you won't find his name on any roster or on stone. The Army never sent him there. He went there on his own. So if you meet a quiet man who won't say where he's been, You buy that man a drink, my friend, and never ask again. [Final Chorus: full male choir] One-Zero, take them over Where the ridges hide the sun, And bring them back, One-Zero. Bring back every one. [Outro: snare stops, a lone man whistling three notes] [End]
