A little something different from the usual on Veterans Day.......
Sam Stone by John Prine (originally released in 1972)
Sam Stone came home,
To his wife and family
After serving in the conflict overseas.
And the time that he served,
Had shattered all his nerves,
And left a little shrapnel in his knee.
But the morphine eased the pain,
And the grass grew round his brain,
And gave him all the confidence he lacked,
With a Purple Heart and a monkey on his back.
There's a hole in daddy's arm where all the money goes,
Jesus Christ died for nothin' I suppose.
Little pitchers have big ears,
Don't stop to count the years,
Sweet songs never last too long on broken radios.
Sam Stone's welcome home
Didn't last too long.
He went to work when he'd spent his last dime
And Sammy took to stealing
When he got that empty feeling
For a hundred dollar habit without overtime.
And the gold rolled through his veins
Like a thousand railroad trains,
And eased his mind in the hours that he chose,
While the kids ran around wearin' other peoples' clothes...
There's a hole in daddy's arm where all the money goes,
Jesus Christ died for nothin' I suppose.
Little pitchers have big ears,
Don't stop to count the years,
Sweet songs never last too long on broken radios.
Sam Stone was alone
When he popped his last balloon
Climbing walls while sitting in a chair
Well, he played his last request
While the room smelled just like death
With an overdose hovering in the air
But life had lost its fun
And there was nothing to be done
But trade his house that he bought on the G. I. Bill
For a flag draped casket on a local heroes' hill.
"There's no one person who was the basis for Sam Stone, more like three or four people, like a couple of my buddies who came back from Vietnam and some of the guys I served with in the Army. At the time, all the other Vietnam songs were basic protest songs, made up to slap each other on the back like 'Yeah, this the right cause.' I don't remember any other songs that talked about the soldiers at all. I came up with the chorus first and decided I really liked the part about the 'hole in Daddy's arm' I had this picture in my mind of a little girl, like Little Orphan Annie, shaking her head back and forth while a rainbow of money goes into her dad's arm. I think I invented the character of Sam Stone as a story line just to get around that chorus. I am proud of 'Sam Stone', ( first performed in his Chicago debut) It actually kind of means a little more to me now because it gets labeled an anti-war song, and all the problems the vets have had through the years have come out recently. I was writing about coming back home at the same time some of my buddies were coming home from 'Nam and Korea (Prine was drafted in 1966 and spent two years in Germany as a mechanic). Things were never quite the same for us after that, I was just trying to explain it to myself. I never get tired of that song." ~John Prine
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http://suicidegirls.com/groups/Heart+Conditions/
A new group for those who have any sort of heart condition, disease, or defect. Also for those who have friends/loved ones with such, or just for anyone who's curious or seeking info. A place for information, discussion, and support. Everyone is welcome to join, so please do.
Sam Stone by John Prine (originally released in 1972)
Sam Stone came home,
To his wife and family
After serving in the conflict overseas.
And the time that he served,
Had shattered all his nerves,
And left a little shrapnel in his knee.
But the morphine eased the pain,
And the grass grew round his brain,
And gave him all the confidence he lacked,
With a Purple Heart and a monkey on his back.
There's a hole in daddy's arm where all the money goes,
Jesus Christ died for nothin' I suppose.
Little pitchers have big ears,
Don't stop to count the years,
Sweet songs never last too long on broken radios.
Sam Stone's welcome home
Didn't last too long.
He went to work when he'd spent his last dime
And Sammy took to stealing
When he got that empty feeling
For a hundred dollar habit without overtime.
And the gold rolled through his veins
Like a thousand railroad trains,
And eased his mind in the hours that he chose,
While the kids ran around wearin' other peoples' clothes...
There's a hole in daddy's arm where all the money goes,
Jesus Christ died for nothin' I suppose.
Little pitchers have big ears,
Don't stop to count the years,
Sweet songs never last too long on broken radios.
Sam Stone was alone
When he popped his last balloon
Climbing walls while sitting in a chair
Well, he played his last request
While the room smelled just like death
With an overdose hovering in the air
But life had lost its fun
And there was nothing to be done
But trade his house that he bought on the G. I. Bill
For a flag draped casket on a local heroes' hill.
"There's no one person who was the basis for Sam Stone, more like three or four people, like a couple of my buddies who came back from Vietnam and some of the guys I served with in the Army. At the time, all the other Vietnam songs were basic protest songs, made up to slap each other on the back like 'Yeah, this the right cause.' I don't remember any other songs that talked about the soldiers at all. I came up with the chorus first and decided I really liked the part about the 'hole in Daddy's arm' I had this picture in my mind of a little girl, like Little Orphan Annie, shaking her head back and forth while a rainbow of money goes into her dad's arm. I think I invented the character of Sam Stone as a story line just to get around that chorus. I am proud of 'Sam Stone', ( first performed in his Chicago debut) It actually kind of means a little more to me now because it gets labeled an anti-war song, and all the problems the vets have had through the years have come out recently. I was writing about coming back home at the same time some of my buddies were coming home from 'Nam and Korea (Prine was drafted in 1966 and spent two years in Germany as a mechanic). Things were never quite the same for us after that, I was just trying to explain it to myself. I never get tired of that song." ~John Prine
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://suicidegirls.com/groups/Heart+Conditions/
A new group for those who have any sort of heart condition, disease, or defect. Also for those who have friends/loved ones with such, or just for anyone who's curious or seeking info. A place for information, discussion, and support. Everyone is welcome to join, so please do.
kreatinkaos:
I'm a renal failure patient , but I don't need a transplant at this time , and my cardiologists want to give me a combo defibulator / pacemaker in the near future .