March 5th, 1970 - the ski jump had to land
Uncle Vinko had to win today
Smiling Yugoslavians were cheering in the stands
And I watched from grad school in the USA
He crouched and coiled and waited
But got his signals crossed
He tumbled madly down the slope
And suddenly everything was lost

YOU DON’T SUCK - even though the world saw you defeated
YOU DON’T SUCK - In MY eyes you’ll never be the clown
Just bad luck - hey, look at the bright side – you competed
Cuz YOU DON’T SUCK

An avalanche of spastic skis and poles and spinning limbs
Even a gasp from the Russians
Medics ran to help, and though the evidence was grim,
Vinko only had a slight concussion
But the world just saw disaster
And that footage brought him fame
On ABC’s Wide World of Sports
Though no one ever knew his name - I told him

YOU DON’T SUCK - even though the world saw you defeated
YOU DON’T SUCK - In MY eyes you’ll never be the clown
Just bad luck - hey, look at the bright side – you competed
Cuz YOU DON’T SUCK

Vinko never skied again
No victory, no gold
He drove a forklift in a factory
And ached cause he got old

Me, I’ve tried to be a writer
But I just get puzzled looks
And so I think of Uncle Vinko
When nobody buys my books – he’d tell me

YOU DON’T SUCK - even though the world sees you defeated
YOU DON’T SUCK - In MY eyes you’ll never be the clown
Just bad luck - hey, look at the bright side – you competed
Cuz YOU DON’T SUCK
YOU DON’T SUCK.