Artist: Drive-By Truckers
Song: the sands of iwo jima
George A. was at the movies in December '41
They announced it in the lobby what had just gone on
He drove up from Birmingham back to the family's farm
Thought he'd get him a deferment, there was much work to be done
He was a family man, even in those days
But Uncle Sam decided he was needed anyway
In the South Pacific over half a world away
He believed in God and country, things were just that way
Just that way
When I was just a kid, I spent every weekend
On the farm he grew up on, so I guess, so did I
And we'd stay up watchin' movies on that black and white TV
We watched 'The Sands Of Iwo Jima' starring John Wayne
Every year in June, George A. goes to a reunion
Of the men that he served with, and their wives and kids and grandkids
My great uncle used to take me, and I'd watch them recollect
About some things that I could not comprehend
And I thought about that movie, asked if it was that way
He just shook his head and smiled at me in such a loving way
As he thought about some friends, he will never see again
He said, "I never saw John Wayne on 'The Sands Of Iwo Jima'"
Most of those men are gone now but he still goes every year
And George A's still doin' fine, especially for his years
He's still living on the homestead, in the house that he was born in
And I sure wish I could go see him today
He never drove a new car, though he could easily afford it
He'd just buy one for the family, take whatever no one wanted
He said, "A shiny car didn't mean much, after all the things he'd seen"
George A. never saw John Wayne on 'The Sands Of Iwo Jima'
George A. never saw John Wayne on 'The Sands Of Iwo Jima'
