[Verse 1]
Robert was a sailor for the best years of his life
His captain was his mother and the ocean was his wife
Only fresh out of the cradle, life's one and only spring
He was sworn to do his duty and got blood on his high school ring

[Chorus]
And it's hello California, hello Dad and Mom
Ship ahoy, your baby boy is home from Vietnam
Don't you ask me any questions about the medals on my chest
Take the star out of the window and let my conscience take a rest

[Verse 2]
Now he sailed across the ocean to the old Far Eastern war
And it was foreign to his body, it was foreign to his shore
So he traded in the present for the better times he'd seen
And made an Oriental waitress his own homecomin' queen

[Chorus]
And it's hello California, hello Dad and Mom
Ship ahoy, your baby boy is home from Vietnam
Don't you ask me any questions about the medals on my chest
Take the star out of the window and let my conscience take a rest