Paul Hardcastle - 19 (12" Destruction Mix) 1985

Producer – Paul Hardcastle Written-By – J. McCord, P. Hardcastle, W. Coutourie Mastered By – timtom © 1985 Chrysalis Records Ltd Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN THE RIGHTS TO THIS SONG. "19" is a song by British musician Paul Hardcastle released as the first single from his self-titled third studio album Paul Hardcastle (1985). The song has a strong anti-war message, focusing on America's involvement in the Vietnam War and the effect it had on the soldiers who served. The track was notable for early use of sampled and processed speech, in particular a synthesized stutter effect used on the words 'nineteen' and 'destruction'. It also includes various non-speech, re-dubbed sampling, such as crowd noise and a military bugle call. Features sampled narration (voiced by Peter Thomas), out-of-context interview dialogue ("I wasn't really sure what was going on") and news reports from Vietnam Requiem the ABC television documentary about the post-traumatic stress disorder suffered by Vietnam veterans. In 2009, the song placed at 73 on VH1's 100 Greatest One-Hit Wonders of the 80s. Had huge international success in the charts; it went to No. 1 in the UK (for five weeks), a number of other countries worldwide, and reached number 15 in the US Pop Charts and number 1 in the US Dance and Club charts. "19" became the top-selling single in 13 countries. This was helped by the fact that versions of the song, spoken by well-known local news anchors, were recorded in French, Spanish, German and Japanese. The song received the Ivor Novello award for Best-selling single of 1985. The song's English-language release came in three different 12" versions - "Extended Version", "Destruction Mix" and "The Final Story", each with an alternative cover design. Lyric: They fought the longest war in American history They fought the longest war in American history (Peter Thomas): In 1965 Vietnam seemed like just another foreign war But it wasn't It was different in many ways And so were those who did the fighting In world war two the average age of the combat soldier was 26 In Vietnam he was 19. Inininin Vietnam he was 19 (3xSampling), n n n n nineteen (TV-Reporter): The heaviest fighting of the past two weeks Continued today 25 miles north west of Saigon (Albert Dobbs): I wasn't really sure what was going on (Vet's Voice): Nininini Nineteen, 19, 19 19 19 (Peter Thomas): In Vietnam the combat soldier typically served A twelve-month tour of duty But was exposed to hostile fire Almost every day (Spoksmen*, Girl**) Ninininininininininin* 19** nininininninin 19 Ninininininininininin 19 nininininninin 19 (TV-Reporter): In Saigon a U.S. Military spokesman said today More then 700 enemy troops were killed last week In that sensitive border area Through out all of south Vietnam the enemy lost A total of 2.689 soldiers [Schrei] (Singing Girl) All those who remember the war They won't forget what they've seen Destruction of men in their prime Whose average age was 19 Dedededededede-Destruction Dedededededede-Destruction [Trompete] (Peter Thomas): According to a veterans administration study Half of the Vietnam combat veterans Suffer from what psychiatrists call Post traumatic stress disorder Many vets complain of alienation, rage or guilt Some succumb to suicidal thoughts Eight to ten years after coming home Almost 800.000 men are still fighting the Vietnam War (Peter Thomas): None of them recieved a hero's welcome (Singing Girl and Spoksmen) Nininininininininin Nineteen, Saigon Saigon Saigon Saigon Saigon 19, Ni-nineteen 19, 19, 19, 19, 19 Nininininininininin Nineteen, 19, Ni-nineteen 19, Ni-nineteen, 19 Vietnam , S S Saigon , Vietnam , S S Saigon Vietnam , S S Saigon , Vietnam , S S Saigon (Peter Thomas): Purple heart, Saigon, purple heart, S S Saigon (Vet's Voice): I wasn't really sure what was going on (Vet's Voice): I wasn't really sure what was going on