Billy Joel - Goodnight Saigon: Guitar Chords

Learn to play "Goodnight Saigon" on your guitar with our chord guide. This page provides everything you need to perform this song on the guitar, including lyrics integrated with chords, chord diagrams, and a key transposer to match your vocal range.

For easier playing, use our Simplify Chords feature to remove difficult chords like barre.

          Dm/F          G7     C
We met as soul mates on Parris Island,
   C/E     Dm/F         G7   C
We left as inmates from an asylum
             Em   Am            Em   Am
And we were sharp, as sharp as knives
            Dm            Dm/C          G/B F/A G
And we were so gung-ho to lay down our lives

We came in spastic like tameless horses
We left in plastic as numbered corpses
And we learned fast to travel light
Our arms were heavy but our bellies were tight

We had no home front, we had no soft soap
They sent us Playboy, they gave us Bob Hope
We dug in deep and shot on sight
And prayed to Jesus Christ with all of our might

We had no cameras to shoot the landscape
We passed the hash pipe and played our Doors tapes
And it was dark, so dark at night
And we held on to each other like brother to brother
We promised our mothers we'd write

Chorus:
C/A#         F/A    A#      C    C/A#
And we would all go down together,
             F/A    A# G7/B  C    C/A#
We said we'd all go down  together,
              F/A    A# Dm/A  G7
Yes, we would all go down  together

Remember Charlie, remember Baker
They left their childhood on every acre
And who was wrong? And who was right?
It didn't matter in the thick of the fight

Am G/B       C  Dm      E   Dm/F    E
We held the day in the palm of our hand
Am    G/B       C    Dm       E     Dm/F
They ruled the night and the night seemed
    G
to last as long as

Six weeks On Parris Island
We held the coastline, they held the highlands
And they were sharp, as sharp as knives
They heard the hum of our motors,
they counted the rotors
And waited for us to arrive

Chorus:
And we would all go down together
We said we'd all go down together
Yes, we would all go down together



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Simplify chords by removing barre

Guitar Chord Diagrams

A

Guitar chord A

A#

Guitar chord A#

Am

Guitar chord Am

B

Guitar chord B

C

Guitar chord C

Dm

Guitar chord Dm

E

Guitar chord E

Em

Guitar chord Em

F

Guitar chord F

G

Guitar chord G

G7

Guitar chord G7

Here you can see detailed diagrams for each guitar chord used in the song. Utilize our key transposer to adjust the chords to a key that better fits your singing range. Simply select the desired key, and the chords throughout this page will update automatically, ensuring you can play and sing comfortably.

If you are also interested in learning how to play "Goodnight Saigon" on the ukulele, check out the chords on our sister site: Ukulele Chords for "Goodnight Saigon" by Billy Joel.

Billy Joel Song List