Sam Stone
1971 · Atlantic SD 8296 · New York City, New York
- Artist
- John Prine
- Title
- Sam Stone
- Release
- John Prine
- Year
- 1971
- Label
- Atlantic # SD 8296
- Format
- LP · Album
- Language
- English
- Country
- New York City, New York, USA
- Songwriter
- John Prine
- Genre
- Country · Country
Annotation
John Prine, influential and successful country singer/songwriter, born 10 October 1946 in Maywood, Illinois, USA, and died on 7 April 2020 in Nashville, Tennessee, USA, released the topical track "Sam Stone" (Atlantic # SD 8296). (1) The narrator told of the plight of a Vietnam veteran returning home from the "conflict overseas", who turned to drugs: "morphine eased his pain". The song ended with his death: "Sam Stone was alone when he popped his last balloon". Thus, this was another Vietnam-Drugs representation. The song makes a small reference to the Purple Heart - a US military decoration. Covered by the Virginia soul artist Swamp Dogg on the 1972 album Cuffed, Collared and Tagged.
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
About the artist
American singer-songwriter, born 10 October 1946 in Maywood, Illinois ('Sam Stone'); died 7 April 2020 in Nashville, Tennessee. [Source: Wikipedia]
Themes
Mistreatment of Vet · Drugs · Purple Heart · Home Front Perspective · Religion