The song is a tale about a shy, lonesome, young American soldier who strikes up a conversation and later a correspondence with a high school girl during the Vietnam War era. Americana details pervade the lyrics, including piers, school bands, public prayer, and Friday night football games. At the end, the soldier has died, unnoticed by any but the young girl he realized he had fallen in love with.
lyrics
Two days past eighteen,
He was waitin' for the bus in his army greens,
Sat down in a booth, at a café there,
Gave his order to a girl with a bow in her hair,
He's a little shy, so she gave him a smile,
And he said, would you mind sittin' down for awhile,
And talkin' to me, I'm feelin' a little low,
She said, I'm off in an hour and I know where we can go.
So they went down and they sat on the pier,
He said, I bet you got a boyfriend, but I don't care,
I've got no one, to send a letter to,
Would you mind if I sent one back here to you?
I cried
Never gonna hold the hand of another guy,
Too young for him they told her,
Waitin' for the love of a travelin' soldier,
Our love will never end
Waitin' for the soldier to come back again,
Never more to be alone,
When the letter says, a soldier's coming home.
So the letters came from an army camp,
In California, then Vietnam,
And he told her of his heart,
It might be love and all of the things he was so scared of,
He said, when it's gettin' kinda rough over here,
I think of that day sittin' down at the pier,
And I close my eyes, and see your pretty smile,
Don't worry, but I won't be able to write for awhile.
I cried
Never gonna hold the hand of another guy,
Too young for him they told her,
Waitin' for the love of a travelin' soldier,
Our love will never end,
Waitin' for the soldier to come back again,
Never more to be alone,
When the letter says a soldier's coming home.
One Friday night at a football game,
The Lord's Prayer said and the anthem sang,
A man said, folks won't you bow your heads,
For a list of local, Vietnam dead.
Cryin' all alone under the stands,
Was a piccolo player in the marching band,
And one name read, an' nobody really cared,
But a pretty little girl with a bow in her hair,
I cried
Never gonna hold the hand of another guy,
Too young for him they told her,
Waitin' for the love of a travelin' soldier,
Our love will never end,
Waitin' for the soldier to come back again,
Never more to be alone,
When the letter says a soldier's coming...
I cried
Never gonna hold the hand of another guy,
Too young for him they told her,
Waitin' for the love of a travelin' soldier,
Our love will never end,
Waitin' for the soldier to come back again,
Never more to be alone,
When the letter says a soldier's coming home.
credits
from 2014 B.O.H.I.C.A. World Tour,
released November 26, 2014
Written and originally recorded by American country music artist Bruce Robison in 1996 and again, in rewritten form, in 1999. Issued as a single by the Dixie Chicks in December 2002, from their album Home. It became the group's sixth and final single to reach No. 1 on Billboard.
I convinced my daughter Meghan to sing the lead for this and my wife Mona to sing the required female harmonies. My son Patrick played the first part of the lead break while I played the rest of the guitars and sang harmony as well.
Started playing the guitar when I was 10 - took a 6 week crash course and was self-taught from there on. Played in a few
bands but always played. Technology has now allowed me to record my versions of songs and instead of just hearing the harmonies and other instruments in my head, I could now add them!
I hope you enjoy these songs!...more
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