Arlo Guthrie: When A Soldier Makes It Home (live)
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- Опубліковано 29 вер 2024
- Halfway around the world tonight
In a strange and foreign land
A soldier packs his memories
As he leaves Afghanistan
And back home they don't know too much
There's just no way to tell
I guess you had to be there
For to know that war was hell
And there won't be any victory parades
For those that's coming back
They'll fly them in at midnight
And unload the body sacks
And the living will be walking down
A long and lonely road
Because nobody seems to care these days
When a soldier makes it home
They'll say it wasn't easy
Just another job well done
As the government in Kabul falls
To the sounds of rebel guns
And the faces of the comrades
Being blown out of the sky
Leaves you bitter with the feeling
That they didn't have to die
And there won't be any victory parades
For those that's coming back
They'll fly them in at midnight
And unload the body sacks
And the living will be walking down
A long and lonely road
Because nobody seems to care these days
When a soldier makes it home
Halfway around the world tonight
In a strange and foreign land
A soldier unpacks memories
That he saved from Vietnam
Back home they didn't know too much
There was just no way to tell
I guess you had to be there
For to know that war was hell
And there wasn't any big parades
For those that made it back
They flew them in at midnight
And unloaded all the sacks
And the living were left walking down
A long and lonely road
Because nobody seemed to care back then
When a soldier made it home
The night is coming quickly
And the stars are on their way
As I stare into the evening
Looking for the words to say
That I saw the lonely soldier
Just a boy that's far from home
And I saw that I was just like him
While upon this earth I roam
And there may not be any big parades
If I ever make it back
As I come home under cover
Through a world that can't keep track
Of the heroes who have fallen
Let alone the ones who won't
Which is why nobody seems to care
When a soldier makes it home
It's been 47 years ago for me as well. Arlo Guthrie really hit a nerve with this song. I've been sending it by email to some of my buddies. I was an 18 year old Infantry Soldier in Vietnam. I was always impressed with my accomplishment of making it back even if nobody else was. I am just now clearing my mind.
I found my head one day without even trying. Forced to kill one year and the next year told I had to love. And being criticized every step I took, it was almost too much! But I made it back from there too.
The media and all the Hollywood movies didn’t do us any favors either. Thank you Arlo, these young Veterans need your type of recondition.
"I suspected, around the time I left Vietnam, that we're all versions of targets, fired at by indifferent events. If that was the case, then I wanted to be a moving target." (Mike Archer Sr.)
Mike Archer Hi bro,i was 18,in a rifle company,Royal NZ Infantry Regiment,i guess we all lost the best part of us over there,our innocence,and held friends as they bled out....i learned the hard way the ONLY thing worth fighting for was the manon my right,and the man on my left....itstaken a lifetime forme to come to terms with what i saw and did...when i came home i vowed i would never hurt another human being...i hope thats enough when God judges me...
Good to hear from you!
Respect.
It was your buddies that taught me what Soldiering is all about.
Thank you.
Thank You for saying that! Coming from you it means a lot to me.
2021, Aug 14th
Found out Kandahar just fell to the Taliban
Feels like my gens Saigon, along with Baghdad. All that work, all that sweat, all that blood, all for fuckin' nothing
it's been a long healing process, welcome home Soldier!
Every politician running for Federal office, or state legislative office where he or she might be responsible for crafting legislation on behalf of Veterans should watch this extremely poignant video. Every sing of one them, party affiliation or ideological leanings notwithstanding. Every damn one of ''em.
Sorry Bill, just can't; not with the first anniversary of my brother's passing coming up shortly. Nor can I when I think of my only surviving sibling who was exposed to Agent Orange while serving in the Korean DMZ during the same year. If you looked at the timeline when I did last write about Guthrie's song from my perspective, you'll notice six months have gone by. In some respects I can understand why you might recommend "letting go" because sure, it's not healthy to go around holding on to grudges and we have lives to live. Nevertheless, I know that you being a veteran have expressed your thoughts with the utmost sincerity and I thank you for doing so.
I work in the mental health department at the VA. I understand the "letting go" theory, but it's much more difficult than that. The real key to recovery is to get to the place where you can remember those times without reliving them. I was in VN and I'm living proof that you can make it back. God bless.
I can't listen to this often. After 47 years, I'm starting to make it back.
Sgt Jim Dodson
US ArMY Ret.
Thank you Sgt, Dadson. .
Finally visited friends at "The Wall" 2006. Everything goes forward.
Welcome home Sgt. Dodson. Thank you for your service.
Been close, too many names.
Thank you Sgt. Dodson. Thank you for your courage, service and steadfast example. I"m a former AF service dependent. Refuse to use the word "brat." Although I didn't go in the service during the Vietnam War years, I always appreciated what our men who did serve there and in other hot spots, did for our country. My two brothers served in Vietnam and Korea, both near the DMZs of both nations at the same time. And both were exposed to Agent Orange. Our eldest brother died this past Spring from a collection of other ailments which no doubt could only have been made worse by his exposure to the chemical spray since he was an Intel Officer flying up in the choppers. Both my brothers as our father were officers, and they knew well in advance that to willingly or even get drafted into the Service is to take the risk of enormous physical, mental, and yes, emotional sacrifice of leaving behind one's family and friends back home.
This is what all the crass money grubbing Donald Trumps of the world, who have the nerve to equate whatever it requires to build skyscrapers (on his father's dime) throughout NY and the nation ... with the noble word "sacrifice." He trashes the word like he trashed the honor and dignity of not only Captain Khan, and his grieving parents, but also the members of Captain Khan's unit whom he gave up his life so they could return home.
I'm almost 65 and I have those moments when I wonder "if only" I'd stood up to both my parents more at the time I would've been eligible, and as I have those moments and relive the "woulda coulda shoulda" emotional rope pulls
my wife kindly reminds me of conversations she had with both my parents and brothers as to whether or not I wouldve lasted through boot camp. Hell, I even tried to jug regular ROTC classes at the University of Miami that was an hour's commute (on good days) to and from my alma mater, (then) Biscayne College way up in northern Dade Co. My number was 88 and I didn't have any "bone spurs" although my parents were concerned because of my hypothyroid condition, not a good mix in a steam jungle if you're out of meds and stuck way in the field for long periods. Hell, had they known what more I had in terms of undiagnosed bipolar depression and ADHD, which one doc told me in my late forties, I had "in spades." I always felt bad about not going in and for the longest time it was difficult for me to feel fully at home with men who did serve and in some cases, sacrificed an awful lot. While it sure didn't help my depression, who was I to complain considering what our soldiers who had a hell of a lot more reasons to be a hell of a lot more depressed and more often than I did?
Maybe Trump got depressed now n' then when a project didn't go as planned, fell behind and he lost money. Maybe he experienced some emotional pangs from the failure most people feel and associate with filing bankruptcy. But I guess when you're a serial bankrupt and you have the art of cashing your chips in such a timely way so as to avoid paying your debtors what you owe, the sting of depression tends to fade. And I guess when you can pull that off, even if it means no doubt, just given the number of veterans working in construction alone, stiffing men and women who have truly sacrificed and watch others make even greater sacrifices, and not get on your knees and beg God's forgiveness ... which Trump has proudly admitted he never has, what does the word sacrifice mean at all to him. It can't mean something that he's lost permanently that can't be replaced like an arm or leg, sight or hearing, or a once normal looking face, now marred by the flames of battle and constant plastic surgeries afterwards. I have a nephew who suffers from a neck injury sustained in a Humvee he was riding through Kandehar just days before his tour was to end in Afghanistan. A graduate of a prominent military college and law school, he put his best years on hold to serve his country in combat in Afghanistan and also in the Balkans. He used to be a regular runner, in fact, a member of his alma mater's Cross Country team. But, his running days are over. Nevertheless, he's rightfully proud to have served his country and had the opportunity to serve it with distinction and honor.
That's something Donald Trump has no right to share. He's never earned it and he relinquished any opportunities he could've tried to create for others, not to mention the relatively enormous greater good will he could've established between himself and our Veterans. No, he had to mock the searing sacrifice paid by the Khans and all other Gold Star parents and spouses. That was how he demonstrated how he "controls the situation." Well, my dad used to constantly repeat like a litany: "control the situation, don't let it control you," and he was right.
Yet he was also sensitive enough to the plight of many veterans suffering from horrible episodes of painful combat fatigue, PTSD, whatever it's called by our medical experts depending on the historical time and wars our men and women fought and suffered these silent wounds from in addition to whatever physical wounds they have to bear. He knew there were limits to what we can honestly control. But it was his great faith in God that helped him to both somewhat overcome the loss of my mother after 43 years of marriage to cancer and yet soon afterwards rediscover what he could control, a greater sense of happiness returning to him from the service he volunteered to give to veterans at our local VA center.
He was thankful for everything and did what he could in his final years to help others who truly suffered and paid sacrifices in the service to their country in combat or other stressful situations. There were and still remain many thousands of men like him of the WWII "Greatest Generation" era and one of the biggest tragedies of the rising losses of so many Veteran members of that generation is the examples they're taking with them if they are not put in writing, on tape and most importantly, paid full heed to. They knew how to give, and give and give and keep on giving sans the whining my generation is far too famous for; especially men like Donald Trump. His sons are no better, and the kind of crowd he keeps is just as bad in different ways. Leeches, selfish leeches who can sneer down at an immigrant Gold Star Muslim couple who sacrificed the loss of their son, a Captain in the Army, all the while their "hero" comes up with one generality of an idea packaged as "policies" over and over ... and the faux hero couldn't have been bothered to at least see if he could've endured ROTC. I did that much, but being a good soldier's son, I reluctantly also played the role of the third son and last child to parents whose two oldest children were both serving on the DMZ and Vietnam in the same year. I stood down. And while I'll always appreciate and honor their love with gratitude, yes, I still sometimes have those "what if" moments. I hope some day Donald Trump will experience what I've just discovered. It won't hurt him when he has to pen his first letter as a commander to parents wanting to know why their son or daughter lost his or her life and was it really worth the sacrifice. It's a duty as all officers, even Donald Trump cannot evade if he wants to really think of himself as a genuine Commander in Chief. Otherwise, he'll still be the dressed up prep school kid in a toy soldier's outfit.
When this song was first written the Afghanistan part was meant for the Soviet soldiers who were leaving that land. I heard him perform it at Farm Aid IV back in 1990. Over thirty years from the time I first heard it the song is even more powerful. Is the soldier Soviet? American? British? Or is he a symbol of all who have fought and somehow made it back to a nation that pushes them aside?
I love this song makes me remember when my brothers came home. One from the Navy but the heartache came when my other brother came home from Vietnam and how he was treated especially by the veterans of the early seventies. He ended up a proud veterans being there to salute the vets who died. He died in 2018 of Agent Orange.
My father was MSgt Richard H Armstrong, Jr.....He used to say, "I may not agree with your opinions, or your politics, or how you wear your hair. But I will defend to my DEATH your right to have those opinions, to exercise your politics, and to wear your hair however the hell you want to."
Ah, but I was so much Older then; I'm Younger than that now. Does anyone else hear that. But I love Arlo anyway.
I just realized that today, March 29 is National Vietnam War Veterans Day. That war is still such a national tragedy which caused so much damage. Someday I'll visit the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington DC, I hope I'll feel it's healing effects.
Being an old vet myself I can relate to this although that was many years ago. On the other hand we've waited for our son to come home from Iraq twice and Afghanistan twice. He's made a career of service to our country.
I did not really understand what my parents must have gone through until my son joined the Marines and went to Afghanistan.
I think if ya don't cry during this song, you may not be human.
True
No more! We must care for those who made it back and remember the price of war!
Halfway around the world tonight
In a strange and foreign land
A soldier packs his memories
As he leaves Afghanistan
And back home, they don't know too much
There's just no way to tell
I guess you had to be there
For to know that war was hell
And there won't be any victory parades
For those that's coming back
They'll fly them in at midnight
And unload the body sacks
And the living will be walking down
A long and lonely road
Because nobody seems to care these days
When a soldier makes it home
They'll say it wasn't easy
Just another job, well done
As the government in Kabul falls
To the sounds of rebel guns
And the faces of the comrades
Being blown out of the sky
Leaves you bitter with the feeling
That they didn't have to die
And there won't be any victory parades
For those that's coming back
They'll fly them in at midnight
And unload the body sacks
And the living will be walking down
A long and lonely road
Because nobody seems to care these days
When a soldier makes it home
Halfway around the world tonight
In a strange and foreign land
A soldier unpacks memories
That he saved from Vietnam
Back home they didn't know too much
There was just no way to tell
I guess you had to be there
For to know that war was hell
And there wasn't any big parades
For those that made it back
They flew them in at midnight
And unloaded all the sacks
And the living were left walking down
A long and lonely road
Because nobody seemed to care back then
When a soldier made it home
The night is coming quickly
And the stars are on their way
As I stare into the evening
Looking for the words to say
That I saw the lonely soldier
Just a boy that's far from home
And I saw that I was just like him
While upon this earth I roam
And there may not be any big parades
If I ever make it back
As I come home under cover
Through a world that can't keep track
Of the heroes who have fallen
Let alone the ones who won't
Which is why nobody seems to care
When a soldier makes it home
Songwriters: Arlo Guthrie
Keep this song as it’s so current! Love it!
As a proud Canadian I volunteered to serve in the USA 13 months in the Mekong delta.came home but a part of me died over there, I was never the same.
Sandy Gillies Respect to you, Sandy.
Sandy, Thank you for your service sir. You're right, combat will change you and they will be changes that those that have never been in combat will never understand.
God bless you for your service......thank you, friend!
Peace Brother & Welcome Home. 410 days in III Corps, including a few in IV Corps. I wish you well if you're struggling.
Thank you Arlo for remembering us.
1st Cavalry, 1970
Well I guess I'm gonna try to do this one for Vets day at the coffee house this year. The wife is tired of me doing "Sam Stone" every year. Gonna be tough to keep it together, but I expect I'll manage. Thanks to all you vets out there, some of us appreciate your efforts.
Arlo Guthrie , you are a National Treasure ~ God Bless you
does the length of his hair really matter ? certainly the compassionate content
of his heart & soul is much much much much more important than how he wears his hair ...
This is a long time comin. When I was a kid, before I enlisted, my hair was kinda long. Now my Pops was a W.W.2 vet and the only thing he told me was "You're the one that's gotta walk around lookin like that."
I have a son, that just came back from Aphganistan...I forwarded this song onto him. It changed him...having to pick up all the dead bodies...Lovely song Arlo!
yeah same with my son who joined during the Iraq war -- picking up dead bodies out of Haiti changed him PTSD -- we are peace niks and I guess he had to find out the hard way. He did meet his wife while on tour in Japan and they have two children. They are living in Japan and he came back just to get treated for his PTSD. Peace Out as we are facing more wars today --
What an incredible song!!
Same-same, Bro...I was Navy, flew back in in '73 (the very end of US involvement)...and got spat on &called a "baby-killer" but the worst had to be the silence and rejection by people I'd known my whole life...and, in case nobody has said it to you yet, "WELCOME HOME!"
Mike Halvorsen I'm sorry people treated you like that.
I'm a Navy vet. My father is an Army vet. (no one's perfect) He let me know he'd never had anyone say, "thank you". I'm ashamed of anyone that calls themself an American and has no gratitude for out soldiers/sailors. Thank you! Thankyou for your service; Thankyou for your example; Thankyou for your sacrifice. People may be blind to the sacrifices we've made but God has seen and he never forgets. God will bless you.
Wow I was in the other room and heard this track. Had to go to the source and find out who was singing on the golden river song. Just beautiful.
Arlo is America's Treasure.
I love everyone's performance in this rendition. I need thousands and thousands more of this salving music for my psychic wounds but it is never to be found again. Bless you all as you face your own wounds and needs.
This song brings tears to my eyes as my brother was in Iraq and Afghanistan and was a changed man. Also our scout leader died in Vietnam.
Sherry, the only explanation I can offer as to why we don't speak on Nam is If you were not there we can't explain it and.If you were there we don't have to explain it. Welcome home to your Dad
I saw him play this live in Eugene, Oregon. He prefaced the song by saying that he's a lot smarter than when he was young, and wished he'd have written it decades ago.
. When I came back from my tour in Nam as a helicopter door gunner I felt I was hated. So much so I wouldn't wear my uniform in the airport. We were ridiculed, spit on and called baby killers, and then try to find a job, wasn't going to happen if they knew you were a vet. It is ok to hate the war or the politics, even the politicians. But why the soldier? We were just trying to do our job, We had a lot to carry in Nam, and now I carry a chest full of medals and a head full of nightmares
Tim Connolly Welcome home brother, sandman nam 69
Powerful song, had never heard it before. As a Vietnam vet, I can only hope that songs like these can help make things better for the troops making it home now. They deserve all of the help we can give them. Thank you, Arlo.
As a vietnam bet, i agree with what the MSgt said and thank god so did my family. When i wore my hair long i got no riducule from my family, f--k the others who thought differently, they weren't there and they just didn't know. Love this song, must learn how to play and sing this.
As an old vet myself, 68 to 71 this song brings back memories. As the Father of a son that's making a career of serving, going on 18 years now and is a multiple combat tour vet both of us can relate.
So many songs like this one takes you back. Another one for me is Simon and Garfunkel homeward bound. So many airports and train stations waiting to go home. Homeward bound
I wish I was
Homeward bound
Home where my thought's escapin'
Home where my music's playin'
Home where my love lies waitin'
Silently for me
I love you Arlo. You have the gift! Just like you daddy...but for our generation...you are the best. I can tell, that you are a modern day professional.
sorry Tim..I marched against the war in D.C. we were all young, influenced and brain washed...glad you made it home...my brother did not
NO shame in marching against the war, any war, TOO many young men didn't make it home - all for greed, may your brother RIP xxx
Never tire of Arlo's music. He is so amazing.
Beautiful thrilling song.
A chaque écoute, j'en ai des frissons.
Does this tune predate "Song from My Back Pages"? Is this a borrowed melody, or is it just traditional?
What would we do without Arlo Guthire? Need more watching this
To you vets of Nam, I am your age. I did not go...student deferment, good luck with the lottery. I am PROUD of you guys, You got screwed in your returning home Veteran stuff....folks were so fucked up mad about the war, and unfairly took it out on you. I am SO sorry that happened to you. You deserved so much more. It is strange now to think that the protesters...Arlo being one of them....were right. You guys got it both ways...treated shittily for something you did that was required, but not morally or politically correct. Damn. Thanks for being good guys!
We had several Canadians in our company that were good guys and 2 guys from England, Those two were friggin crazy. According to them they alone were going to win the war. We all know how that came out.
Same here Tim, with ALL my ribbons and a couple dollars I can get a beer. Ribbons we had to earn, my nightmare are free. 101 grunt. Welcome home, brotha.
A lot of people seem to get very confused by the whole concept of "Soldier".
A Soldier is someone who has learned:
to work with others
to pray for peace
to cherish friendship
to keep going
to hope for understanding
to understand when he doesn't get it
to love you anyway
Tim Connolly , Thank you so much for your service & i am so sorry you went through so much & still do ..some of us still care & as a Daughter of a WWII Army Soldier with all kinds of Military people in my Family , i salute you Sir !
Thank you Arlo, after all these years you can still bring me to tears.
Arlo was just here and went through tons of songs from Pete and his father as well as some of his own. It was an awesome concert and I'm glad I could be lucky enough to experience his music at such a young age.
One of the most touching of current songs about the truth of war. Arlo is a national treasure and legend for those of us who subscribe to this kind of philosophy.
Thank you all for serving and protecting our freedoms.
Tears slide down my face as soon as I hear the first note of the harmonica.
Thank you for posting the lyrics.
GREATHEST THANKS FOR YOU AND WHO DIDIN T KNOW ORLO GUTHRIE THIS BIG MAN TANK YOU FOR THIS REMEMBER
Enjoy the weekend and our gratitude for your sacrifices and service gentlemen. You certainly deserve it. Thanks, S.
Love and peace to all the vet's ...God bless you all
Thanks to all the vets for taken up a challenge most were afaird off
Wonderful ! Dam getting rare, now so many want to be followers of big power, now if you dare question or critizise "your" authorities all sort of repressions pop-up !
You are a hero!! G-d Bless you for serving your country! My father was a hospital corpsman in Nam.. He served mostly on a ship, but saw a lot of messed up stuff.
i tried to UP a number of posts ...but it would not add them..........
God bless all who served and are serving.....
Mr. Connolly, Thank you for your service to America and welcome home!
Thank you Arlo
Único
love this song!!!
when I came back,none of my brothers made it, and everyone hated me, I didn't understand why, I thought we did it for everyone here, yet, today I am considered an enemy of the state. And I see the pattern being repeated today, maybe not quite the same. but still the same.
I had never heard this song until today.....and I can't stop crying. I'm 63 and just missed the Viet Nam draft. My dad was a Lt. in WWII and those stories were horrific as well. Thanks to everyone whoever served anywhere for our great nation...and especially to the ones in heaven.
kinda reminds me vaguely of My Back Pages. Nice song
GREAT !!!!
great song for everyone.
Thank you BlessYou
Good song!
happy to subscribe.
my thoughts exactly
Welcome HOME Mr. Connolly.
Right on George I am just on old old tired vet thanks to Arlo for this great song.
My back pages !
so sorry for your tragic loss :(
Welcome home Sir!!!
We were wrong and I am so sorry. Thank you for defending my rights
Kinda? You could sing My Back Pages right along with it.
Great Song Sung By A classic Singer
I guess "The Draft" got him :) Alices Restaraunt
thank you Ms Armstrong for this post
Painful shit, that!
Pascal. I get you.
Great song.
Love you Arlo!
AWESOME!!!