My father, talked to the man who worked the tugboats
My father, knew how to ride a horse and shoot a gun
My father, rode the rails
My father, worked in the apple orchards
My father, was in the army
My father, worked in a factory
My father, had a grocery store for 30 years,
and raised 7 children
My father, came to visit me in the stockade
during the war in Vietnam
My father, can't understand why I'm trying to make a living
singing songs
My mother, always smiles
My mother, was born and raised down on the farm
My mother, worked in a department store
My mother, married my father,
and moved north
My mother, worked in the grocery store for 30 years
bore and raised 7 children
My mother, refused to come and see me when I was in the stockade during the war in Vietnam
My mother, can't understand why I'm trying to make a living
singing songs
Me, I'm just standing here
I, was born in Brooklyn
I had an unhappy childhood
I worked in the grocery store
I was drafted
I refused to go to Vietnam
Now, I'm just standing here
And sometimes, I can't understand why I'm trying to make a living
singing songs
Now, it's 20 years later
My parents sold the grocery store and moved to Florida
I live in Kingston with my wife and son
I never got over being in the stockade
I'm trying to make any kind of living I can
My wife is very understanding
My son loves war games
I'm very happy
I still sing songs
Music fills my soul
Music fills my life
Music is my joy.
My father, knew how to ride a horse and shoot a gun
My father, rode the rails
My father, worked in the apple orchards
My father, was in the army
My father, worked in a factory
My father, had a grocery store for 30 years,
and raised 7 children
My father, came to visit me in the stockade
during the war in Vietnam
My father, can't understand why I'm trying to make a living
singing songs
My mother, always smiles
My mother, was born and raised down on the farm
My mother, worked in a department store
My mother, married my father,
and moved north
My mother, worked in the grocery store for 30 years
bore and raised 7 children
My mother, refused to come and see me when I was in the stockade during the war in Vietnam
My mother, can't understand why I'm trying to make a living
singing songs
Me, I'm just standing here
I, was born in Brooklyn
I had an unhappy childhood
I worked in the grocery store
I was drafted
I refused to go to Vietnam
Now, I'm just standing here
And sometimes, I can't understand why I'm trying to make a living
singing songs
Now, it's 20 years later
My parents sold the grocery store and moved to Florida
I live in Kingston with my wife and son
I never got over being in the stockade
I'm trying to make any kind of living I can
My wife is very understanding
My son loves war games
I'm very happy
I still sing songs
Music fills my soul
Music fills my life
Music is my joy.
Contributed by Alessandro - 2009/1/26 - 15:27
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Words and music by Bob Lusk
"9420 Wogan Terrace was the address of the house I grew up in. I was born in 1947 and was 13 years old in 1960. When I was 16 I was sent to a southern Baptist military academy where I watched training films about a place called Vietnam. When I was 18 I was denied conscientious objector status, drafted against my will and given orders to go to Vietnam. To make a long story short I refused to go and was court martialed, serving 6 months in the Fort Dix stockade. I was then sent to Germany where I was active in the anti-war movement in the military, served out the remainder of my time and received an honorable discharge.
Some years later I put some thoughts down in a tone poem/song, which I updated for today. It's rather narcissistic and self-involved but every once in a while I sing it as a present to myself." Bob Lusk.