Henry's Songbook

Chorus:
There's a hole in daddy's arm where all the money goes
Jesus Christ died for nothing, 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 came home to his wife and family
After serving in the conflict overseas
And the time he had served had shattered all his nerves
And left a little shrapnel in his knee
But 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

Sam Stone's welcome home didn't last too long
He went to work when he'd spent his last dime
So Sam took to stealing when he got that empty feeling
For a hundred-dollar habit, without overtime
But the gold flowed through his veins like a thousand railroad trains
And eased his mind in the hours that he chose
While his kids ran round wearing other people's clothes

Sam Stone was alone when he popped his last balloon
Climbing walls while sitting in a chair
And he played his last request while the room just smelled like death
With an overdose hovering in the air
You see, life had lost its fun, there was nothing to be done
But trade his house he'd borrowed on the G.I. bill
For a flag-draped casket on the local heroes' hill

(as sung by Iain MacKintosh)

 [1979:] Ein beeindruckendes Lied über Drogensucht unter kriegsversehrten Vietnam- Soldaten. Es ist wenig bekannt, daß ein hoher Prozentsatz von ihnen erst süchtig wurde, nachdem sie im Krankenhaus behandelt wurden. (Notes Iain MacKintosh, 'Straight to the Point')

 [1991:] On Kennedy and the early development of the Vietnam War see Thomas C. Reeves, 'A Question of Character', 287ff

 [1993:] 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 is 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 this 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 to that chorus. (Notes John Prine, 'Anthology - Great Days')