Yesterday, we looked at one man's view of World War I and several interpretations. Today, we look at soldier stories from the U.S. Civil War to the Viet-Nam war and beyond. You might notice a weighting in favor of Steve Earle. That is because he wrote some of the best ones.
We Can't Make it Here by James McMurtry There's a Vietnam vet with a cardboard sign Sitting there by the left turn line The flag on his wheelchair flapping in the breeze One leg missing and both hands free No one's paying much mind to him The V.A. budget's just stretched so thin And now there' s more coming back from the Mideast war We can't make it here anymore And that big ol' building was the textile mill That fed our kids and it paid our bills But they turned us out and they closed the doors 'Cause we can' t make it here anymore You see those pallets piled up on the loading dock They're just gonna sit there 'til they rot 'Cause there's nothing to ship, nothing to pack Just busted concrete and rusted tracks Empty storefronts around the square There's a needle in the gutter and glass everywhere You don't come down here unless you're looking to score We can't make it here anymore The bar's still open but man it...
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