I've been a fighter pilot now for damn near all of my life
There's nothing in the world I'd rather do
I've flown every kind of airplane from the T-6 to the 'Hun'
And I've loged in a thousand hours in the blue
I've flown against the ground troops and I've flown them 'air to air'
Against ships and tanks and anything you please
But I'm stuck in South East Asia now and going up the walls
Cause the only thing I'm doing's bombing trees
Tree buster oh tree buster!
Where do you go today?
Will you target that just to strike me something good?
Will your efforts be rewarded with results that you can see?
Or will once again you just go chopping wood
The life of a tree buster is frustratin' for a jock
As we daily scatter splinters far and near
All the jungle that we bombed today will grow back in a week
And you'll never even note that we were here.
A suspected VC Depot, a Command Post or a Trail
An LZ Preped named are just a tease,
Just once I'd like to hear the fact described like it is
And say 'He's got suspected VC trees'
Tree buster oh tree buster!
They give them fancy names
Trying to make you think you're doing good
But sure as hell you know that there ain't nothing there but trees
And the only thing you're doing's chopping wood
This morning when the frag came down we scarcely arise
There was Bridges, Trucks and S.A.M.s and everything
With visions of good missions and of targets worth the time
We rejoyced and then the phone begun to ring
First the Wing Commander said he thought he'd like to fly
Then the DO stand and valid all the rest
We were all bumped off the schedule by those whinnies up in wing
They would save us for the job we do the best
Tree buster oh tree buster!
What makes your face so red?
Don't you know they'd let you go too if they could?
But they'll tell you all about it go tonight arround the bar
And tomorrow you'll go back to chopping wood...