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 nerve
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
(chorus)
there’s a hole in daddy’s arm where all
the money goes
jesus christ died for nothing i suppose
little pictures 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 stealin’ when he got
that empty feelin’
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 wearing other
peoples clothes
(chorus)
sam stone was alone when he popped his
last balloon
climbing walls while sitting in a chair
and they played his last request while the
room smelled just like death
with an overdose hovering in the air
cause life had lost it’s 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 hero’s
hill
(chorus)