| "Sam Stone" | ||||
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| Song by John Prine from the album John Prine | ||||
| Released | 1971 | |||
| Recorded | American Recording Studios, Memphis, Tennessee | |||
| Genre | Folk music | |||
| Label | Atlantic | |||
| John Prine track listing | ||||
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"Sam Stone" is a song written by John Prine about a drug-addicted veteran with a Purple Heart and his death by overdose.
The most familiar refrain in the song is "There's a hole in daddy's arm, where all the money goes"
The song can be interpreted as a reference to the phenomenon of heroin or morphine addiction and subsequent heroin addiction among Vietnam war veterans. The song does not mention the Vietnam War, saying only that Sam returned from "serving in the conflict overseas." There is a single explicit reference to morphine, but not to heroin, although he does use the term "habit," slang commonly associated with heroin use, and sings "he popped his last balloon," very likely referring to one of the ways in which street heroin is commonly packaged - in small rubber balloons.[1]
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Time magazine July 24, 1972 [1]
Parts of the melody of "Sam Stone" were used by Roger Waters in the opening of "The Post War Dream," a song on Pink Floyd's 1983 album "The Final Cut". The song is indirectly referenced in "Cop Shoot Cop...", which closes Spiritualized's 1997 album, Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space - the lyrics "There's a hole in my arm where all the money goes/Jesus Christ died for nothing, I suppose," are almost identical to the memorable refrain of "Sam Stone."
Soldier's Joy Traditional song with similar theme,from Civil War, about opium.
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