This is an example of a good anti-war song. Sam Stone by John Prine:

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 nerves,
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 nothin' I suppose.
Little pitchers have big ears,
Don't 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.
He went to work when he'd spent his last dime
And Sammy took to stealing
When he got that empty feeling
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 wearin' other peoples' clothes...

Repeat Chorus

Sam Stone was alone
When he popped his last balloon
Climbing walls while sitting in a chair
Well, he played his last request
While the room smelled just like death
With an overdose hovering in the air
But life had lost its 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 heroes' hill.

Good song. Not a big Prine fan in general, but this is a moving track.

i really like the title more than anything

I thought this thread was about Spiritiualized.

Hey man there's a hole in my arm where all the money goes
Jesus Christ died for nothin' I suppose

Cop Shoot Cop.

yeah....me 2
but if i remember right, this was their inspiration

I'd assume so. It's a pretty weird little couplet for two different songwriters to stumble upon independently.

Those are great, sad lyrics. I don't suppose I could get a PM of the song could I?

I'll see if I can't upload it some time today.

yeah, this album is pretty good as John Prine goes. there's some other tracks on there called 'six o'clock news' and 'your flag decal won't get you into heaven anymore' that are pretty good, too.

Album closer "Cop Shoot Cop" references some lyrics from the John Prine song "Sam Stone," incorporating a key line from that song's chorus and then spouting several variations thereon. However, the serpentine melody of the jazzy, atonal "Cop Shoot Cop" bears no resemblance to that of Prine's folk song.

i remember my parents listening to this song when i was like 8 years old... i think i have the record someplace.

i thought those lyrics were great. sad, but still great. the story probably happens more than most people know

is this the only john prine thread we have here?