Pearl's Eye View (The Life Of Dickey Chapelle) - Nanci Griffith

Oh, she was high up there in the air
Caught still by a soldier's stare
Whenever it was men amongst men
Down upon the land

And she followed those Mothers' sons
She felt the thunder of their guns
From a pearl's eye view
Just a camera in her hand

She was born Georgette but the name
Didn't suit her well
So, she blew out of Wisconsin as Dickey Chapelle

Oh, she flew with a pilot's pride
The first witness to either side
She carried relief to the lost ones
Between the bombs

And we saw it all through her lens
Well, she knew she'll go back again
When the call rang out
Once more from Vietnam

She's been through this before
She'll tell you war is hell
Her pearl earrings caught the light
On Dickey Chapelle

Oh, that's the way it was
She was the only one to tell
In 1962, she blew the
Whistle loud and clear

And now, we trace her wings
In her footsteps without fear
To the front lines where she fell
Where she lies still but she's still there

Oh, it was 1965 over
Chu Lai in a free fall dive
In a dawn patrol to cover
The dead zone ground

She tiptoed through the land mines
All along the enemy lines
But she never saw the one
That took her down

Now, she captured
The bloody pearls of war so well
That war was bound to steal the end

Of Dickey Chapelle
(From a pearl's eye view)
Dickey Chapelle
(From a pearl's eye view)

Dickey Chapelle
(From a pearl's eye view)
Dickey Chapelle