Sam Stone
Sam Stone's Journey: A Ballad of War's Toll
Lyrics
Sam Stone came home
Sam Stone returns home.
To his wife and family
He reunites with his wife and family.
After serving in the conflict overseas
After serving in a foreign conflict.
And the time that he served
His time in service has damaged his nerves.
Had shattered all his nerves
Leaving shrapnel in his knees.
And left a little shrapnel in his knees
The morphine helps alleviate his pain.
But the morphine eased the pain
Grass grows around his brain, possibly a metaphor for numbness.
And the grass grew round his brain
Confidence is gained through the medication.
And gave him all the confidence he lacked
He has a Purple Heart and struggles with addiction.
With a purple heart and a monkey on his back
Symbolic reference to burdens he carries.
There's a hole in daddy's arm where all the money goes
Reference to drug use and its impact on family.
Jesus Christ died for nothin' I suppose
A cynical view of sacrifices made in war.
Little pitchers have big ears
Children can absorb and understand more than we realize.
Don't stop to count the years
Advice not to dwell on the past.
Sweet songs never last too long on broken radios, mmhmm
The transient nature of joy, especially on broken radios.
Sam Stone's welcome home
Sam Stone's return is not celebrated for long.
Didn't last too long
His financial struggles lead him to work immediately.
He went to work when he'd spent his last dime
Turning to theft to support a drug habit.
And Sammy took to stealing
Desperation for a fix without job stability.
When he got that empty feeling
Gold symbolizes the allure of drugs.
For a hundred dollar habit without overtime
Kids suffer due to their father's actions.
And the gold rolled through his veins
Intense drug influence and escape.
Like a thousand railroad trains
A metaphor for the overpowering nature of drugs.
And eased his mind in the hours that he chose
Comfort found in drugs rather than family.
While the kids ran around wearin' other peoples' clothes
Children wear second-hand clothes due to financial strain.
There's a hole in daddy's arm where all the money goes
Repetition of the impact of addiction on family.
Jesus Christ died for nothin' I suppose
Reiterating the perceived futility of sacrifices.
Little pitchers have big ears
Children perceive more than adults think.
Don't stop to count the years
Advice not to dwell on the past.
Sweet songs never last too long on broken radios, mmhmm
Repetition of the transient nature of joy.
Sam Stone was alone
Sam Stone becomes isolated in addiction.
When he popped his last balloon
A metaphor for the end of innocence.
Climbing walls while sitting in a chair
Describing the effects of addiction on the body and mind.
Well, he played his last request
A final musical request before death.
While the room smelled just like death
The room reflects the impending tragedy.
With an overdose hovering in the air
The inevitability of a fatal overdose.
But life had lost its fun
Life loses its joy and becomes futile.
There was nothing to be done
No solution to his problems.
But trade his house that he bought on the GI bill
Trading a home for a military burial.
For a flag-draped casket on a local hero's hill
Symbolic loss of the American dream.
There's a hole in daddy's arm where all the money goes
Repetition of the impact of addiction on family.
Jesus Christ died for nothin' I suppose
Reiterating the perceived futility of sacrifices.
Little pitchers have big ears
Children perceive more than adults think.
Don't stop to count the years
Advice not to dwell on the past.
Sweet songs never last too long on broken radios, mmhmm
Repetition of the transient nature of joy.
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