Johnny Cash
"Veteran's Day"

(Tom Russell)

Well I used to hang out down at the VFW hall
And stare at the photographs up on the wall
Of the neighborhood boys that died in the wars we've been through
And the hand lettered sign that said remember Jimmy McGrew
Well Jimmy went to Nam back in 1965
But there's a lot of men here that think Jimmy McGrew's still alive
Though they carved his name on a stone in Washington DC
His brother said that stone don't prove a thing to me
It's veteran's day and the skies are gray
Leave the uniforms home cause there ain't gonna be a parade
But we'll fill up a glass for the ones that didn't make it through
And leave a light in the window tonight for Jimmy McGrew
[ guitar ]
There's a hot rain fallin' on the back streets of Saigon
There's an old soldier stumblin' down the alley with his mama-san
Lord his eyes are cloudy and his arms are black and blue
He's just hangin' by a thread and he looks like Jimmy McGrew
It's veteran's day...
And keep it burnin' bright there may still be a lot of Jimmy McGrews overthere