James Ford Essay 6 Revision- Sam Stone

Interpretation of John Prine's "Sam Stone"

Like all other forms of art, music is a form of creative expression used to communicate the feelings and opinions of the artist. Music has the capacity to persuade the listener where simpler rhetoric may fail. Many times music is used as a medium to express political opinions or beliefs. Country/folk singer John Prine demonstrates music’s capacity to move in his song “Sam Stone.” Prine evokes deep sadness and even guilt in the listener, using powerfully affecting lyrics to tell the all too true story of the fictional Sam Stone, a Vietnam veteran who returns home addicted to heroine and unable to support his family. While Sam Stone is a fictional character in the song, he undeniably represents the numerous Vietnam veteran’s who did return home only to be spit on by the country for which they were fighting.

The song begins with the return of Sam Stone to his family “after serving in the conflict overseas” (Prine). The song goes on to tell us that the time he served has left him with an injury in his knee and shattered nerves for which he is given morphine. He has also returned with a Purple Heart and a “monkey on his back.” The monkey on his back could very well be the morphine he uses to ease the pain. We can also gather that he served as an American soldier in the war by the fact that he received a Purple Heart. The Chorus comes next but I will discuss that later because it is more easily understood after the second and third verses.

The second verse begins to reveal more about Sam’s life after his initial welcome home. The Lyrics are:

“He went to work when he'd spent his last dime
And Sammy took to stealing
When he got that empty feeling
For a hundred dollar habit without overtime.” (Prine).

Once Sam’s wartime pay ran out he began working, but turned to stealing to support his drug habit without having to work overtime.

“And the gold rolled through his veins
Like a thousand railroad trains,
And eased his mind in the hours that he chose,
While the kids ran around wearin' other peoples' clothes...” (Prine).

Sam has become addicted to some kind of hard intravenous drug, which we can take to be heroin. We now understand that the “monkey on his back” is now heroin, a close derivative of morphine. He takes heroin when he wants, but neglects his children, who are forced to wear thrift or hand-me-down clothing.

The third verse tells us that Sam Stone’s was alone when he “popped his last balloon” (Prine). A balloon is slang for heroin, since it is sometimes dealt inside of a small balloon. The song then tells us that Sam has overdosed on heroin, because

“life had lost its fun
And there was nothing to be done
But trade his house that he bought on the G, I. Bill
For a flag draped casket on a local heroes' hill” (Prine).

These last few lines are critical to the interpretation of the song. Here we feel the total despair felt by Sam Stone. He has traded literally his house, and figuratively his entire life for a flag draped casket, as if they are somehow equal trade offs. These lines have profound implications of distrust for a governing body as do the lines of the chorus:

“There's a hole in daddy's arm where all the money goes,
Jesus Christ died for nothin' I suppose.
Little pitchers have big ears,
Don't stop to count the years,
Sweet songs never last too long on broken radios” (Prine).

Throughout the entire song Prine never takes on a persona until he reaches the chorus. In the first two lines he takes on the persona of Sam Stone’s daughter. The hole in her father’s arm is literally the hole from the needle used to inject heroin. The money he has is spent on heroin instead of his children. We understand how fully, and overly disillusioned his children are when his daughter tells us that she believes Jesus Christ died for nothing. According to The Dictionary for Cultural Literacy, the phrase little pitchers have big ears is American vernacular meaning that “adults must be careful what they say within hearing of children,” because they understand more than we give them credit for. Sam’s neglect for his children is a reoccurring theme throughout the song. The next two lines continue to tell us of Sam’s demise.

Prine relies almost entirely on emotional appeal to communicate his point. This song is very sad in and of itself, but the fact that this was a true story for many returning veterans gives the song an incredible amount of ethos appeal, making it much more important and pertinent. Also because Prine is not arguing, no one can argue against him. He has no need for a logos or ethos appeal because they are inherently there. We must view this song in the context of it’s time to understand its purpose. John Prine has not created any new character or told us anything that we were not already aware of. He gives us no opinions and any resemblance to a thesis is found only in the line “Jesus Christ died for nothing I suppose,” a view of Sam Stone’s daughter, which is never proved or even backed up. Judging him on these criteria, Prine would have failed as a songwriter. But the important thing about this song is its effect and purpose. John Prine, as he so masterfully does, has told us nothing new, but exactly what is happening that we need to pay attention to, enforced by sledgehammer lyrics. You are saddened, distressed, and angry after hearing the story of “Sam Stone,” which is exactly the purpose of the song. Prine has actually achieved this in a more intricate way than you first realize. By constantly telling us of Sam’s neglect for his own children, we become angry and disgusted by Sam. The listener thinks how can a man treat his own children this bad? How can a father be so uncaring? But you are also aware that this problem has largely been cause by the governments neglect and mistreatment of the very people for which it is supposed to protect and support. While the listener definitely holds Sam responsible for the neglect of his children, they also hold the government responsible for sending Sam to what many people considered a pointless war. Sam’s problems come from his service in Vietnam, and are perpetuated by our countries further neglect and attitude towards veterans once they returned. I think this song’s intended audience is everyone: the neglected, the neglectors, and the bystanders all alike. His message is something that everyone can relate to and understand. Those veterans neglected by the government will still feel anger towards Sam’s uncaring attitude for his children, and will hopefully not react the same way towards their responsibilities. Prine hopes that those who have neglected and spit on returning veterans, will feel guilt and remorse for their actions, and try to make amends. Also, this song will make those who were not directly affected by the war aware of the numerous injustices caused by it, and encourage them to feel a civic responsibility to their fellow countrymen. While the context of this song is that of a specific time and period in our countries history, it sends a universal message to all people, to be aware of their responsibilities towards others, and their civic responsibility to be involved in the choices made by their governing body.