DESCRIPTION:
This classic Aussie anthem was first released in 1978 on the debut album "Cold Chisel", as well as on a 7" single backed with "Just How Many Times". I do not own this fucking great song.

This track was taken directly from the first edition of the 1980s pressing of the CD. Over time, the track has endured multiple "remastering", "equalization" and "brick walling" techniques, which has not completely preserved the dynamic range of the original masters. Also, the version which gains most of the radio airplay nowadays is the mid 80s remix of the track by Mark Opitz, and the two versions are often confused. Enjoy this great classic, the way it was originally intended to be heard!

Interesting to note, that there are actually three different studio versions of this song. There is the original version, which was released on the first album and single in 1978. In 1980, the vocals and organ solo were re-recorded during East sessions and included on the US version of the East album. Two mixes exist: on promo copies and early pressings of the album, Don Walker's keyboard solo is completely cut from the intro, leaving only the acoustics. Later, more common mixes take an opposite approach: the acoustic part is cut from the intro, leaving only Don's keyboard solo. This mix also gives Barnes' vocals more reverb.

http://coldchisel.com/

Song written by Don Walker.

Lyrics:

I left my heart to the sappers round Khe Sanh
And my soul was sold with my cigarettes to the blackmarket man
I've had the Vietnam cold turkey
From the ocean to the Silver City
And it's only other vets could understand

About the long forgotten dockside guarantees
How there were no V-dayheroes in 1973
How we sailed into Sydney Harbour
Saw an old friend but couldn't kiss her
She was lined, and I was home to the lucky land

And she was like so many more from that time on
Their lives were all so empty, till they'd found their chosen one
And their legs were often open
But their minds were always closed
And their hearts were held in fast suburban chains
And the legal pads were yellow, hours long, paypacket lean
And the telex writers clattered where the gunships once had been
But the car parks made me jumpy
And I never stopped the dreams
Or the growing need for speed and novacaine

So I worked across the country end to end
Tried to find a place to settle down, where my mixed up life could mend
Held a job on an oil-rig
Flying choppers when I could
But the nightlife nearly drove me round the bend

And I've travelled round the world from year to year
And each one found me aimless, one more year the more for wear
And I've been back to South East Asia
But the answer sure ain't there
But I'm drifting north, to check things out again

You know the last plane out of Sydney's almost gone
Only seven flying hours, and I'll be landing in Hong Kong
There ain't nothing like the kisses
From a jaded Chinese princess
I'm gonna hit some Hong Kong mattress all night long

Well the last plane out of Sydney's almost gone
Yeah the last plane out of Sydney's almost gone
And it's really got me worried
I'm goin' nowhere and I'm in a hurry
And the last plane out of Sydney's almost gone