John Brown (Live at Town Hall, New York, NY - April 1963)

John Brown went off to war to fight on a foreign shore His mama sure was proud of him He stood straight and tall in his uniform and all His mama’s face broke out all in a grin Verse 2 “Oh son, you look so fine, I’m glad you’re a son of mine You make me proud to know you hold a gun Do what the captain says, lots of medals you will get And we’ll put them on the wall when you come home” Verse 3 As that old train pulled out, John’s ma began to shout Telling’ everyone in the neighborhood: “That’s my son that’s about to go, he’s a soldier now, you know” She made well sure her neighbors understood Verse 4 She got a letter once in a while and her face broke into a smile As she showed them to the people from next door And she bragged about her son with his uniform and gun And these things you called a good old-fashioned war Oh Good old-fashioned war Verse 5 Then the letters ceased to come, for a long time they did not come They ceased to come for about ten months or more Then a letter finally came saying, “Go down and meet the train Your son’s a-coming home from the war” Verse 6 She smiled and went right down, she looked everywhere around But she could not see her soldier son in sight But as all the people passed, she saw her son at last When she did she could hardly believe her eyes Verse 7 Oh his face was all shot up and his hand was all blown off And he wore a metal brace around his waist He whispered kind of slow, in a voice she did not know While she couldn’t even recognize his face Oh Lord Not even recognize his face Verse 8 “Oh tell me, my darling son, pray tell me what they done How is it you come to be this way” He tried his best to talk but his mouth could hardly move And the mother had to turn her face away Verse 9 “Don’t you remember, Ma, when I went off to war You thought it was the best thing I could do I was on the battleground, you were home Acting proud You wasn’t there standing in my shoes” Verse 10 “Oh, and I thought when I was there, God, what am I doing here I’m a-tryin’ to kill somebody or die tryin’ But the thing that scared me most was when my enemy came close And I saw that his face looked just like mine” Oh Lord Just like mine Verse 11 “And I couldn’t help but think, through the thunder rolling and stink That I was just a puppet in a play And through the roar and smoke, this string is finally broke And a cannon ball blew my eyes away” Verse 12 As he turned away to walk, his Ma was still in shock At seeing’ the metal brace that helped him stand But as he turned to go, he called his mother close And he dropped his medals down into her hand