Camouflage (Stan Ridgway song)
| "Camouflage" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Stan Ridgway | ||||
| from the album The Big Heat | ||||
| B-side | "Rio Greyhound" | |||
| Released | 1986 | |||
| Recorded | Fiddler's Studio, J.C. Studios and The Lighthouse, Hollywood, CA | |||
| Genre | New wave, alternative rock | |||
| Length | 7:05 | |||
| Label | I.R.S. | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Stan Ridgway | |||
| Producer(s) | Louis Van Den Berg | |||
| Stan Ridgway singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Camouflage" is a song by Stan Ridgway, from his 1986 album The Big Heat. The song was a chart hit in Europe, peaking at #2 in Ireland and #4 in the United Kingdom, but did not enter the chart in the USA.
Lyrics
The song is sung from the viewpoint of a young PFC (Private first class) of the United States Marine Corps during the Vietnam War. On a search and destroy mission ("hunting Charlie down") he becomes separated from his patrol. Alone in the jungle, he feels himself surrounded and begins to fear for his life; just then, a "big marine" comes to his rescue introducing himself as "Camouflage". The two fight together through the course of a night making their way back to base, during which the PFC notices that Camouflage is unaffected by bullets and is capable of superhuman feats. Camouflage leaves after leading the PFC to the edge of his camp. On his return, the PFC is informed that Camouflage had been on his deathbed for the past week, and died the previous night; just before his death, he said "Semper Fi" and expressed his last wish, "to save a young marine".
Chart positions
| Year | Peak Chart positions | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUS [1] | AUT [2] | BE [3] | GER [4] | IRE [5] | NLD [6] | PL [7] | SWI [8] | UK [9] | |
| 1986 | 76 | 17 | 7 | 8 | 2 | 11 | 2 | 11 | 4 |
Cover version
Swedish power metal band Sabaton covered “Camouflage” on their 2016 album The Last Stand.
References
- ^ "Stan Ridgway". australian-charts.com. Archived from the original on September 21, 2016. Retrieved August 8, 2016.
- ^ "Stan Ridgway Discography". austriancharts.at. Retrieved 2016-07-10.
- ^ "Stan Ridgway Discography". ultratop.be. Retrieved August 8, 2016.
- ^ "Stan Ridgway". offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved August 9, 2016.
- ^ "Stan Ridgway Discography". irishcharts.ie. Archived from the original on 2009-06-03. Retrieved 2009-12-02.
- ^ "Stan Ridgway Discography". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved August 8, 2016.
- ^ "Notowanie 235 Listy Przebojów programu 3 polskiego radia". Polskie radio. Retrieved 2015-02-28.
- ^ "Stan Ridgway Discography". hitParade.ch. Retrieved 2009-12-02.
- ^ "Stan Ridgway". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 8, 2016.
External links
- "Camouflage" at Discogs (list of releases)