Sam Stone - John Prine

Sam Stone by Al Kooper

Sam Stone came home,
To his wife and family
After serving in the conflict overseas .
And in the time that he had served,
It had shattered all his nerves ,
And it left a little shrapnel in his knee.
Oh, but the morphine eased the pain,
And the grass grew round his brain,
And it gave him all the comfort as 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 nothin' I suppose.
Little pitchers have big ears,
But don't you stop to count the years,
Sweet songs never last too long on broken radios.
Mmm....

Sam Stone's welcome home
Didn't last too long.
No he went to work after he spent his last dime
And Sammy took to stealing
When he get' that empty feeling
For a hundred dollar habit without overtime.
And the cold rolled through his veins
Like a thousand railroad trains,
And it eased his mind in the hours that it shows,
While his kids ran around wearin' other peoples' clothes...

Repeat chorus:

Sam Stone was alone
When he broke his gas balloon
Climbing walls while he sat there in a chair
Well, he played his last request
While the room stonk just like death
With an overdose just hoverin' in the air
But life had lost it's fun
And there was nothing to be done
But to trade his house that he bought on the gi-bill
For what, a flag draped casket on a local heroes' hill

Repeat chorus

Sam Stone, ah
Sam Stone