Bobby wished he was from the past
He said those cars they used to drive were the best
I know that I'm a simple man
Even my dreams I deserve to have
Annabel had plans of her own
She said there's no way in hell I'm going home
Mamma says she always knows best
God love her, but her life is a mess
I won't change my mind
So keep your hand on my thigh tonight
When we get up north
We'll buy us a store
I won't fight in an oil man's war
Bobby bought a brand new suit
From his neighbor bought round toe shoes
Stuffed the money down in his socks
On his way he bought a wrist corsage
Annie was scared to death
She'd never once in her life laid with a man
But she knew it was his only chance
She bought a white dress second hand
I won't change my mind
Keep your hand on my thigh tonight
When we get up north
We'll buy us a store
I won't fight in an oil man's war
You can't say it's just a matter of pride
I've been living here since I was a child
And now I'm just a simple man
But even my dreams I deserve to have
I won't change my mind
Keep your hand on my thigh tonight
When we get up north
We'll buy us a store
Live upstairs after the kids are born
And I'm not gonna die
So keep your hand on my thigh tonight
'Cause when we get up north we'll buy us a store
I won't fight in an oil man's war
I won't fight in an oil man's war
He said those cars they used to drive were the best
I know that I'm a simple man
Even my dreams I deserve to have
Annabel had plans of her own
She said there's no way in hell I'm going home
Mamma says she always knows best
God love her, but her life is a mess
I won't change my mind
So keep your hand on my thigh tonight
When we get up north
We'll buy us a store
I won't fight in an oil man's war
Bobby bought a brand new suit
From his neighbor bought round toe shoes
Stuffed the money down in his socks
On his way he bought a wrist corsage
Annie was scared to death
She'd never once in her life laid with a man
But she knew it was his only chance
She bought a white dress second hand
I won't change my mind
Keep your hand on my thigh tonight
When we get up north
We'll buy us a store
I won't fight in an oil man's war
You can't say it's just a matter of pride
I've been living here since I was a child
And now I'm just a simple man
But even my dreams I deserve to have
I won't change my mind
Keep your hand on my thigh tonight
When we get up north
We'll buy us a store
Live upstairs after the kids are born
And I'm not gonna die
So keep your hand on my thigh tonight
'Cause when we get up north we'll buy us a store
I won't fight in an oil man's war
I won't fight in an oil man's war
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"Oil Man's War" is not so much a political song - I know that's hard to believe. It's actually a story of a family I met who'd been living in Canada for years and years and left [the United States] during the Vietnam War and raised their family and stayed in Canada. It's that sort of feeling that someone would feel so strongly against participating in something, like being in a country that participates in war, that they would leave. Leave their families and leave places they loved and grew up in and had a lifetime of memories in, for the sake of their ethical beliefs and it's about what the consequences of that are. That's sort of more what the song's about and the feeling that people would be ostracized for believing or not believing in something. It's so un-democratic and yet it's so common in our democracy these days.
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