Covers
When the song was first released Rick Melbourne, a breakfast radio announcer, produced a parody version of the song, including the lyrics "God help me, she told me she was sixteen". Australian country singer John Williamson recorded a live version as "Only 19" and released it on his 1984 vinyl LP, The Smell of Gumleaves (rereleased in 1996 as a CD under the title Home Among the Gum Trees).
The song's and album's producer, Trevor Lucas, performed his version as a member of his United Kingdom-based group Fairport Convention at the 1985 Cropredy Festival. On the show Fast Forward, Gina Riley, in character as Eleanor LaGore, performed a swing version of the song.
In 2005 a hip hop version of the song (called "I was Only 19") was produced by The Herd, voted in at #18 in the 2005 Triple J Hottest 100 playlist. "I was Only 19 (The Herd version)" is credited to Schumman, Cheung, Fellows, Harrison and Kennedy. A video by Broken Yellow was directed by Brendan Doyle and produced by Navid Bahadori included actors in roles as Australian soldiers, some actual Vietnam vets, including Frankie Hunt, are also shown. The video clip can be seen at http://www.brokenyellow.com/. An audio mp3 download by Triple J's Hack has reporter Ali Benton discussing the video, interviewing Doyle, Schumann and Hunt.
This song also plays a symbolic role in the 2006 book World War Z by Max Brooks.
Read more about this topic: I Was Only Nineteen
Famous quotes containing the word covers:
“The covers of this book are too far apart.”
—Ambrose Bierce (1842–1914)
“In truth, politeness is artificial good humor, it covers the natural want of it, and ends by rendering habitual a substitute nearly equivalent to the real virtue.”
—Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826)
“And mimic desolation covers all.”
—Thomas Gray (1716–1771)