Well, my name is Penny Evans and my age is twenty-one
I’m a widow of the war that’s being fought in Vietnam
And I have two infant daughters, oh, I do the best I can
When they say the war is over, I tell ‘em all it just began

I remember I was seventeen when first I met young Bill
At his father’s grand piano
we played good old “Heart and Soul”
And I only knew the left-hand part
but he could play the right so well
He’s the only boy I’ve slept with, he’s the only one I will

And it’s first we had a baby girl, oh, we had two good years
After that, the draft notice came, we parted without tears
Now it’s nine months from our last night
when our second babe appears
Six months later now this letter comes
confirming all my fears

And now it’s every month I get
a check from an army bureaucrat
And it’s every month I tear it up
and send the damn thing back
Do they think that I can be bought off?
Do they think I’ll fall for that?
I won't take this bloody money, it can't bring my Billy back

Now, I have not once cared for politics
all speeches I can’t understand
Likewise, I'll never take no charity from any living man
But it’s fifty-thousand Billys dead in that unhappy land
And that makes fifty-thousand “Heart
and Souls” being played with just one hand

And my name is Penny Evans and my age is twenty-one
And I’m a widow of the war that’s being fought in Vietnam
And I have two infant daughters
God, I’m glad I've had no sons
When they say the war is over
I tell ‘em all it’s just begun