John Brown went off to war
To fight on a foreign shore
His mother sure was proud of him
Well, he looks fine and tall
In his uniform and all
That her face broke right out into a grin
She said, "Son, you look so fine
I'm glad you're a son of mine
Makes me proud to know that you're wearing a gun
Do what that captain says
Lots of medals you will get
And we'll put them on the wall when you get home"
When that old train pulled out
John's ma began to shout
Tellin' ev'rybody 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
She got a letter once in a while
And her face broke into a smile
Showing them to the neighbors from next door
And she bragged about her son
With his uniform and gun
And this thing they called a good old-fashioned war
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"
Well, she smiled and went right down
She looked up and all around
But her soldier son's face she didn't see in sight
But when all the people passed
She saw her son at last
When she did she could hardly believe her eyes
For his face was all shot up
And his hand was all blown off
And he wore a metal brace around his waist
And he whispered kind of slow
In a voice she did not know
She couldn't even recognize his face
She said, "Oh, my darling son
Lord, what've they gone and done
How is it that you come to be this way?"
When the boy tried to speak
His mouth would hardly move
And his mother had to turn her face away
He said, "Do you remember, Ma
When I went off to war
You thought it was the best thing that I could do
I was on that battleground
You were home, acting proud
Thank god, you weren't standing in my shoes"
"And you know, when I got there
I said, 'What am I doing here?'
I got to kill somebody or die tryin'
But the thing that got me most
When my enemy came up close
I could see that his face looked just like mine"
"Through the thunder roar and stink
I couldn't help but think
That I was just a puppet in a play
Through the thunder roar and smoke
This string is finally broke
And a cannon ball blew my eyes away"
When the boy turned to walk
His mother was still in shock
At she saw that 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
John Brown Lyrics performed by Maria Muldaur are property and copyright of the authors, artists and labels. You should note that John Brown Lyrics performed by Maria Muldaur is only provided for educational purposes only and if you like the song you should buy the CD