You weren't there standing in my shoes
And these things you called a good old fashioned war
He tried his best to talk but his mouth could hardly move
And his mother had to turn her face away
When she did she could not believe her eyes
I was on the battleground, you were home, acting proud
She did not see her soldier son in sight
And I couldn't help but think, through the thunder rolling and stink
"That's my son that's about to go, he's a soldier now, you know"
Tellin' ev'ryone in the neighborhood
And I thought when I was there, Lord, what am I doing here?
I was just a puppet in a play
How is it that you come to be this way?"
Ceased to come for about ten months or more
Tryin' to kill somebody or die tryin'
As he turned away to go, his mother was acting slow
Then when letter finally came saying, "Go down and meet the train
Oh, his face was all shot up and his hand were blown away
When all the people passed, she saw her son at last
His mama's face broke out into a grin
We'll put them on the wall when you get home"
She smiled and she went right down, she looked up and all around
"Don't you remember, ma, when I went off to war
"Oh, tell me, my darling son, tell me what they've done
You thought it was the best thing I could do?
She showed them to the people from next door
Your son is coming back from the war"
She got a letter once in a while, her face broke into a smile
Make me proud to know you own a gun
And through the roar and smoke, this string, it finally broke
He whispered kind of slow, in a voice she didn't know
Then the letters ceased to come, for a long time they did not come
"Oh, son, you look so fine, I'm glad you're a son of mine
He stood so straight and tall in his uniform and all
That old train pulled out, John's ma began to shout
But as he turned to leave, he called his mother close
And a cannon ball blew my eyes away"
And he wore a metal brace around his waist
And she couldn't even recognize his face
I can see that his face looked just like mine"
Seein' the metal brace that helped him stand
Do what the captain says, lot of medals you will get
They bragged about her son with his uniform and gun
She made well sure her neighbors understood
But the thing that scared me most, when my enemy came close
