The authors purpose of the lyrics is to inform us about how cruel the Vietnam War was to Veterans that participated in this war. To prove this statement, many Veterans that came back from the war were so dramatize that their point of view of the world were so dark and negative.

 

Quote: “When you walk off the killing fields, still alive, physically intact, you want everything painted black, like your heart, your soul, you mind, your life” (Doyle 1).