Orange Crush

"Follow me, don't follow me I've got my spine, I've got my orange crush Collar me, don't collar me I've got my spine, I've got my orange crush We are agents of the free I've had my fun and now it's time to Serve your conscience overseas (Over me, not over me) Comin' in fast, over me"

Right so this is how the song opens. It's when the soldier is a 18 year old or so in the states. He's just got out of high school and has been enjoying the summer but he gets his draft notice. He's conflicted as to whether he should go or not, (Follow me, don't follow me) but ultimately his patriotic feeling wins over. He wants to be a man and keep his respect by going to war (I've got my spine --> doesn't want to be seen as spineless or weak), but he's still childish at heart (I've got my orange crush --> it's a kid's drink, a soda). He still believes in the benevolent intentions of America in Southeast Asia (We are agents of the free) and he's going to do his patriotic duty overseas. And it all happened so fast; just a month ago he was in school. (Comin' in fast, over me)

"High on the booze In a tent Paved with blood Nine inch howl Brave the night Chopper comin' in, you hope"

So this is pretty hard to hear in the song but it's pretty obvious. Vietnam sucks: they drink to keep down the depression from their friends dying, homesickness, doubt in the justification for the war; there's fear everywhere and the VC 'own the night;' the soldiers just want to go home, and pray for a chopper to come and save them from this hell.

So this is where I get annoyed, because all of the lyrics sites that I've gone to say that the rest of the song is just repeating the chorus part. But I think the lyrics should change. Cause this is how I heard them when I first heard the song, and I think it makes more sense this way:

"Follow me, don't follow me I've got my spine, I've got my orange crush Collar me, don't collar me I've got my spine, I've got my orange crush We are agents BY DECREE I've had my fun and now it's time to SELL your conscience overseas (Over me, not over me) Comin' in fast, over me"

So now the whole meaning of each of these has been flipped. Now the stress is on "DON'T" follow me and "DON'T" collar me. He's angry at the government for forcing him into this war and doesn't want others to go through what he went through. Now he says "I've got my spine" meaning he's glad that he hasn't been deformed by Agent Orange (tons of people, mostly Vietnamese, got cancer, had horrendous birth defects, etc. Some of those affected were our own soldiers), because he was somehow involved with spreading it (maybe he flew the planes that dropped it or was a foot soldier in areas that had been hit by it) and that it's his "crush" because he hates it. Like he's been told it's for the better by the government, he's been 'made to love it,' (crush) but he sees its evil. And yeah, the soldiers are agents of the government unwillingly, and they are 'agents' just like the herbicide Agent Orange -- they're simply tools of the government. "I've had my fun" is clearly like 'Okay I've seen Nam, I'm done with this sh*!t, get me out' whereas before it meant 'I've had my childhood, my good high school memories, my last normal summer, now I'm ready to become a man.' Then "sell your conscience overseas" is pretty simple, either referencing Monsanto (so evil) or just that soldiers returning from Nam had lost their conscience during the war. And then "Over me, not over me/Comin' in fast, over me" could mean both Agent Orange is being dropped over the soldier or that the chopper is finally "comin' in fast", and he's going home.

But those AREN'T the lyrics. I just misheard them and thought they were the real ones, but according to 2 different lyrics sources he actually does repeat the exact same chorus over again, without "SELL" or "BY DECREE." But I think it works better! And the interpretation still works either way, really.