Lyrics of Tet Offensive by HistoryMusicNerd
It was the time of Tet, the lunar New Year,
Vietnams Soldiers at home, no battles to fear.
Families gathered, red lanterns aglow,
But deep in the jungle, the shadows would grow.
Viet Cong and the North broke through the line.
From Hue to Saigon, they struck in time.
In ’68 a deadly threat,
The Tet Offensive ahead!
A new stage in this war is set
The Tet Offensive ahead!
The Viet Cong will soon regret
The Tet Offensive bled!
Hue fell silent, but screams filled the air,
Civilians in graves, the world left to stare.
The embassy stormed, the headlines read:
“How could the enemy rise from the dead?”
Viet Cong and the North broke through the line.
From Hue to Saigon, they struck in time.
In ’68 a deadly threat,
The Tet Offensive ahead!
A new stage in this war is set,
The Tet Offensive ahead!
The Viet Cong will soon regret,
The Tet Offensive bled!
Johnson watched his power drain,
No second term, just too much pain.
The US fought back, but the damage was done,
A turning point reached, the war couldn’t be won.
Over a hundred thousand lost their lives,
No clear victor, just blood and strife.
Viet Cong and the North broke through the line,
From Hue to Saigon, they struck in time.
In ’68 a deadly threat,
The Tet Offensive ahead!
A new stage in this war is set,
The Tet Offensive ahead!
The Viet Cong will soon regret
The Tet Offensive bled!
Historical Background and Meaning
In short: The sing is about the Tet Offensive of the Vietnamese forces in 1968 of the Vietnam War.
The Tet Offensive – A War’s Turning Point
1968 – The year that changed the Vietnam War forever.
On Tet, the Lunar New Year,
when peace was expected,
war erupted like never before.
A Surprise Attack
“Viet Cong and the North broke through the line. From Hue to Saigon, they struck in time.”
On January 30, 1968,
over 80,000 Viet Cong and North Vietnamese troops
launched a coordinated assault across South Vietnam.
- Hue City fell into chaos
- The US Embassy in Saigon was under siege
- Over 100 towns and bases attacked
“The US fought back, but the damage was done, a turning point reached, the war couldn’t be won.”
The Battle of Hue – A Massacre Unfolds
- 26 days of brutal urban combat
- Thousands of civilians executed by the Viet Cong
- US & South Vietnamese forces retook the city—at a heavy cost
“Hue fell silent, but screams filled the air, civilians in graves, the world left to stare.”
A Psychological Defeat for the US
Even though the US and South Vietnam won militarily,
the American public lost faith in the war.
- Televised images of brutality shocked the world
- Protests against the war intensified
- President Johnson refused to run for re-election
“Johnson watched his power drain, no second term, just too much pain.”
Want to Learn More?
- 🎥 Deadliest Year in Vietnam: The Tet Offensive | Animated History (YouTube)
- 🎥 Tet Offensive Explained – Simple History (YouTube)
- 📖 Tet Offensive (Wikipedia)
- 📰 The Battle of Hue (Vietnam War 50th)
The War Would Never Be the Same
“In ’68, a deadly threat – The Tet Offensive ahead!”
The Vietnam War was no longer just a distant battle.
For many Americans,
it had become a war that could not be won.
