John Brown

Being musically challenged, I know very little about this song. I only know the one version (how shocking!), which, of course, in consideration of my current trip, is Bob Dylan's from the album MTV Unplugged (I think). But these words, every-single-time I hear it, I get goosebumps.

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"Don't you remember, Ma, when I went off to war
You thought it was the best thing I could do?
I was on the battleground, you were home . . . acting proud.
You wasn't there standing in my shoes."

"Oh, and I thought when I was there, God, what am I doing here?
I'm a-tryin' to kill somebody or die tryin'.
But the thing that scared me most was when my enemy came close
And I saw that his face looked just like mine."

Oh! Lord! Just like mine!
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Yeah, just like mine. I am not at war. I am no soldier (I could have been, its one of those things I say with regret, now, at 35 and 8 years in the work-force at the other end of the spectrum, safe and cuddly). But still, its so very appropriate for me to think of.