Song Description

Physical and emotional effects of war on soldiers.

Lyrics

POOR ARLEN (Tale of a Lost Soldier)


Carries his groceries over his shoulder
In a white linen pillow case
He wears a black wool stocking cap on his head
Half a smile on his face
And with a wink and a nod he'll say "you know by God"
I had faith in Uncle Sam
Now when I show up at the clinic for my medicine
They all know who I am

CHORUS: At twenty-four they sent him off to war
He came back with a walkin' cane
Lonely soldier on the streets of Baltimore
They say POOR ARLEN''S insane

Now the high school band and the honor role
Old titles he'll still claim
But somehow somewhere along the line
Arlen changed his name
Now this roof over my head he says
Is all I really need
And I K ? N - O ? W all I know
From these newspapers I read


CHORUS

BRIDGE: He's still a prisoner of the jungle
Seeking shelter under treees
But now he talks to people
That no one else ever sees


Now he points out a line on the sidewalk
That's really his own shadow
He says If I can trace the lines to where I've been
I'll know just where to go
And when I look out on that horizon
I see the earth does meet the sky
And I know that it's God's creation
Just as surely as we all die

CHORUS



© R.X. Bertoldi