John Prine was a singer-songwriter who rose to prominence in the 1970s with his unique blend of folk, country, and blues music. His song "Sam Stone" is a poignant and powerful ballad about a Vietnam War veteran who returns home with severe physical and emotional wounds.
The song begins with a description of Sam Stone's life before he went to war: "There's a hole in Daddy's arm where all the money goes / Jesus Christ died for nothing, I suppose." This lines immediately convey the sadness and despair that has overtaken Sam's life. The mention of the "hole in Daddy's arm" is a reference to drug addiction, and the line about Jesus dying for nothing suggests that Sam has lost all hope and faith in the world.
As the song progresses, we learn that Sam was a brave and heroic soldier who sacrificed himself for his country. He "put his life on the line" and "gave all he had to give," but the war took a heavy toll on him. He returned home with "a Purple Heart and a monkey on his back" – a metaphor for the psychological scars he carried with him.
Despite the physical and emotional pain he suffered, Sam remained a devoted husband and father. He "did the best he could" to provide for his family and make their lives better. However, the weight of his injuries and the memories of the war were too much to bear, and he eventually turned to drugs to numb the pain.
The final verse of the song is a heartbreaking depiction of Sam's downward spiral into addiction and despair. He becomes a "junkie on the streets," and his family is forced to "bury [him] in the family plot." The song ends with a poignant and poignant observation: "There's a hole in Daddy's arm where all the money goes / Jesus Christ died for nothing, I suppose."
Overall, "Sam Stone" is a powerful and poignant tribute to the sacrifices of veterans and the devastating effects of war. It is a reminder of the toll that conflict can take on the human spirit, and the importance of supporting and caring for those who have served their country. John Prine's ability to capture the heartache and pain of a wounded veteran in just a few short verses is a testament to his talents as a songwriter, and "Sam Stone" will continue to resonate with listeners for generations to come.
John Prine: 25 Essential Songs
He traveled to France and Spain, he got into some trouble with the cops, he grew his hair out, saw Rebel Without a Cause , and invented Santa Claus. The lyrics address a lover about to leave him alone at home for the week. Prine wrote this tale of the double standards facing a single pregnant mother with legendary Nashville songwriter Bobby Braddock in the early eighties. Many emulated it, but only he could do it. Leave it to Prine to write a deeply unconventional Christmas song and a deeply unconventional love song, all at once.
John had been with him earlier that day. On this upbeat stomper off Bruised Orange , his excellent, undersung third album, Prine combines snapshots from various different chapters of his life — from his first job working at a local drive-in to his army days — and strings them together with a chorus about the importance of forgiveness. Written in the aftermath of a bad relationship, this 1986 ballad is John Prine at his most romantically destitute. I was trying to figure out why this crazy war was happening and what people were going through over there. We kind of combined them and went right into it. Leave it to John Prine to turn an account of his divorce from second wife Rachel Peer into one of his most big-hearted moments, the tale of a broken heart healing itself through compassion.
His style, inspired by John Steinbeck, was deceptively simple. So sorry he was a casualty of the covid virus. His style, inspired by John Steinbeck, was deceptively simple. Even at that young age, Prine could channel humor and heartbreak just like his heroes Hank Williams and Roger Miller. Here are 25 of his best. So what was Jesus up to during that time? Prine was drafted into the Army during the conflict in the late '60s and was inspired by his fellow soldiers to write the song. Prine wrote this heartbreaking tale of a heroin-addicted veteran for his first album, not long after he returned home from serving in the Army himself.
God bless our men who were affected with this monster of a problem. For starters: blow up your TV, throw away your paper, go to the country, build you a home. But his Bluerailroad is a master class in songwriting. I was in Viet Nam and can relate to this one. I was just trying to think of something as hopeless as that.
Prine pledges to open up a nightclub called the Tree of Forgiveness in the afterlife. Prine wrote for working people, sad people, old people, and lost people. Bill For a flag draped casket on a local heroes' hill 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. How far away the doorway was. One of the standouts is this gorgeous ballad, written with Keith Sykes, where Prine looks back on the good times of a relationship while hinting that darkness is around the corner. Like what color the ashtray is.
. We had been raised on John Wayne and World War II, but this was the opposite of that. Many emulated it, but only he could do it. In this one he recognized PTSD before it became just an acronym. How far away the doorway was. In later years,it became a duet standard for Prine, who would perform it with friends like Margo Price, Iris DeMent and Amanda Shires.
Check out another song of his called Hello in There. Prine wrote for working people, sad people, old people, and lost people. Just like he did with every trauma in his life, John wrote about it. But I used all the imagery as if it were an actual prison. Prine opens the song with the image of swimsuits drying on a clothesline, before spinning the idea of a summer coming to a close into a metaphor for fast-approaching mortality. Sung with Iris Dement, this he-said, she-said duet is a portrait of a long-term relationship as only Prine could write it: warm, richly detailed, and funny as hell.
Even at that young age, Prine could channel humor and heartbreak just like his heroes Hank Williams and Roger Miller. 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 was trying to explain that to myself, and that's how I wrote 'Sam Stone. Not a literary masterpiece, just a compact, easygoing tune that seems to effortlessly sum up the life cycle of a relationship from first kiss to last goodbye with a perfect mix of matter-of-fact honesty and genuine wonder at the cheesy depth of the ritual. His observations of the effect the Vietnam conflict had on his pals inspired this song. I think I invented the character of Sam Stone as a storyline just to get around to that chorus.
As a songwriter who radiated kindness, generosity and humanity, Prine brings a unique sense of dispirited unbelief to this brokenhearted yet mordantly funny takedown of Republican ideology in the Bush years, released at the height of the Iraq War. The song is full of hilarious observations pulled straight from real life. She performed it movingly earlier this year at the Grammys, when Prine received a Lifetime Achievement Award. But his Bluerailroad is a master class in songwriting. Here are 25 of the best.
