I played this song at an Obama fundraiser.
He signed up that summer, downtown, with a couple of friends.
Ain't much to do in Tennessee when times are bad,
And it was nice to belong downtown.
Have you finished your high school degree, they said.
he said, well, yes sirree, you know.
I just came out last year, I'm not quite old enough to drink beer.
With my friends. In the pickup. At midnight. Out on the hill.
They sent him to South Carolina, far away.
Far away from all he knew, in his life
It was all pretty excitin'.
They said "boy, you might to some fightin', yes, indeed."
They said here you go, boy, here's your gun.
Go out on the range and have yourself a little fun, so he did.
He made the best friends that he'd ever had.
Wrote letters back to mom & dad, back in Tennessee, where the leaves are
green, where his little sister was finishin' high school.
We all remember that day, in early fall.
Little Willie from Brooklyn was so distraught,
but for him it was just another place he hadn't gone.
Far away. From what he knew. From this base. in Carolina.
But he'd always felt free and pretty damn lucky,
to live in this great country.
So when they said it was time to go
He was happy to go you know, where do you want me to go, where is that,
what do you want me to do.
All his newfound friends loaded into the DC-10.
His gun wasn't far from his side:
it was under the seat, out of sight.
With the letters. From his parents.
And the necklace. From that girl.
Damned if I, damned if I, damned if I lost my leg for a liar.
They pulled into Kuwait that evenin'.
They unloaded a box of supplies.
They showed him to the barracks where he might spend the rest of his
life.`Here's your gas mask. And your desert boots. And some cigarettes.
Even if you don't smoke.
They spent a couple days in Kuwait City, talkin' to some fightin' men.
Someone talked about "Full Metal Jacket."
And someone compared this to Vietnam.
But he didn't know. It was before his time. He wasn't born. And he didn't
really think about it much anyway.
Old Frankie from L.A., was always good for a couple funny things to say.
His jokes were sometimes offensive to someone from Tennessee, 'cause
they were about the south.
But that doesn't mean he should have stepped on that landmine. Poor
little Frankie. Never see his family again. It coulda been me. Maybe it
will.
I say I've never had a cigarette, but after this first kill, maybe I will.
I didn't think that it would come to this: Sand in my rifle, it just won't fire.
The rations are running out. Don't they care?
Damned if I, damned if I, damned if I lost my leg for a liar.
He carried the stump with him back home.
They say he used to lean on his mom when he tried to walk.
He'd always make a little joke.
"Support the troops" is what he'd say, when he wanted to lean on you, so
he wouldn't fall on his face.
Now I'm just 18 years old, but I learned a lot since I went out.
Lord, I wish it wasn't true what they say about him, but I also wish I could
walk.
It's been 13 months since I've seen the green valleys of Tennessee.
It's been 3 weeks since I've gotten a letter from my mom & dad; somethin'
about supply lines.
So if you're heading back that way could you tell them hello from me. They
say they'll I should go home soon but they've been telling me that for
weeks. Oh, the green valleys of Tennessee.
(More info on this song at: http://thedu.us/..., incl. free mp3, etc. )