Story Behind The Song
in 1999 i interviewed a pan handler on the mean streets of atlantic city , n.j.he was a viet nam combat veteran whose life since the war was punctuated by failed relationships , job losses , estrangement from family , alcoholism , and homelessness.when i asked him why , he replied , i never made it home ( from the war ). further research , and personal experience , confirmed his story was not an isolated example , just an extreme one. the song was written to bring attention to this enduring problem and to enlighten society to the coming crisis among our iraq war returning veterans.
Song Description
more than 2 million viet nam vets stil suffer from PTSD 32 years after the war ended.the iraq war veterans will suffer the same debilitating effects from their war experiences unless the u.s. government and its people are aware of the issue and create significant programs to treat and nurture our returning soldiers.
| Song Length |
4:53 |
Genre |
Country - Contemporary, Pop - Rock |
| Tempo |
Medium (111 - 130) |
Lead Vocal |
Male Vocal |
| Mood |
Poignant, Moving |
Subject |
War, Patriotic |
| Similar Artists |
Garth Brooks, Bruce Springsteen |
Language |
English |
| Era |
2000 and later |
| |
Lyrics
Leave on the Light
© 2006, Thomas G. Jones
V1
There once was a young boy with brown curly hair
He laughed in the sunshine and danced in the air
He lived for his dreams and all he could see
He longed for tomorrow and who he?d grow up to be
He was called by his country to take up our cause
We sent him to a foreign land and a brutal bridge to cross
The young man served as he was called with honorable intent
The bridge was crossed but much was lost
Who returned was not who went
Chorus
It could take a long, long time
and forgetting may feel right
But til the last one finds
the way back home
we need to leave on the light
Leave on the light, leave on the light
V2
You see him shuffle in shabby clothes walking cold and wet
eyes downcast, the hero lost behind his cigarette
Once he faced enemy fire on some distant desert ridge
Now he can?t face tomorrow from his box beneath the bridge
Who can say we know the way war is waged within
And the worst kind of homelessness is when you can?t
live in your skin
With broken hearts and broken dreams all shattered
on the way
Some soldiers die in the war
Some die every day
Chorus
Bridge
Their stories make the front page news
But it won?t always be that way
Funny how our warriors
Become tomorrow?s throwaways
Chorus