Mama Bake a Pie (Daddy Kill a Chicken)

Annotation

Mama Bake a Pie (Daddy Kill a Chicken) (Mercury Records # 73127). Composed by Tom T. Hall. 12 Plight of the soldier. About wounded veteran, lost both legs in the war. Leans towards making an anti-war statement, such as "thank you sir and yes sir it was worth it for the old red-white-and-blue, and since I won't be walking I suppose I'll save some money buying shoes", and "I see here in the paper where they say the war is just a waste of time".Sources1The Encyclopedia of Country Music (Michael McCall, 2012)↩2Proud to be an Okie (Peter La Chapelle, 2007)↩

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Lyrics

English: People starin' at me as they wheel me down the ramp toward my plane / The war is over for me I've forgotten everything except the pain / Thank you sir and yes sir it was worth it for the old red-white-and-blue / And since I won't be walking I suppose I'll save some money buying shoes / The bottle hidden underneath the blanket over my two battered legs / I can see see the stewardess make over me and ask were you afraid / I say why no I'm Superman and couldn't find a phone booth quite in time / A GI gets a lotta laughs if he remembers all the funny lines / Mama bake a pie daddy kill a chicken your son is comin' home 11: 35 Wednesday night / Mama will be crying daddy's gonna say son did they treat you good / My uncle will be drunk and he'll say boy they do some real great things with wood / The letter that she wrote me said goodbye she couldn't wait and lots of luck / The bottle underneath the blanket feels just like an old friend to my touch / I know she'll come and see me but I bet she never once looks at my legs / She'll talk about the weather and the dress she wore the July 4th Parade / Lord I love her and I don't believe this bottle's gonna get her off my mind / I see here in the paper where they say the war is just a waste of time

Notes

Mercury 73127, 1-47153, red label; "Mama Bake a Pie (Daddy Kill a Chicken)" (T. T. Hall), 2:52, Newkeys Music Inc. (BMI); George Kent, "Produced by Jerry Kennedy"; "Manufactured and distributed by Mercury Record Productions, Inc." [From the record sleeve and labels]

About the artist

Born June 12, 1935 in Dallas, Texas, USA, and died August 12, 2010 in Loveland, Colorado, USA

Themes

Anti-War · Vet

In collections

Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]