?[00:26.18]John Brown went off to war, called to battle on a foreign shore, [00:32.90]And his mother, she sure was proud of him! [00:37.26]When he stood so straight and tall, in his uniform and all, [00:42.48]His mother’s face broke out in a glowing grin. [00:48.03]She said, "Son, you look so fine, I'm so glad you're a son of mine— [00:54.57]You make me proud to know you hold a gun. [00:59.13]Do what your captain says an’ lots of medals you will get, [01:04.27]Then we'll hang them on the wall when you come home." [01:10.70]As that evening train pulled out, John's ma began to shout, [01:16.45]Telling everybody in the neighborhood: [01:20.21]"That's my son that's about to go, he's a soldier now, you know," [01:24.88]And she made well sure her neighbors understood. [01:32.89]She got a letter once in a while, and her face broke into a smile, [01:37.28]Then she showed them to the people from next door, [01:41.50]And she bragged about her son, with his uniform and gun, [01:46.87]And this thing they called “a good old-fashioned war.” [01:52.85]“A good old-fashioned war.” [02:01.93]After all his letters home, his mail had ceased to come, [02:07.30]And she hadn’t heard a word for nine months or more. [02:11.30]Then one letter finally came: "Go down and meet the train— [02:16.66]Your son is coming home from the war." [02:23.06]Oh, she smiled and went right down, she looked everywhere around, [02:28.18]But she could not find her soldier son in sight. [02:32.62]But as all the people passed, she saw her son at last [02:36.49]And when she did, she could hardly believe her eyes. [02:40.97]His young face was all shot up, and one hand had been blown off, [02:44.96]And he wore a metal brace around his waist. [02:49.45]He whispered kind of slow, in a voice she did not know, [02:52.34]And she could not even recognize his face. [03:09.51]She said, "Oh, my darling son, Lord, tell me what they’ve done. [03:14.23]How is it that you ended up this way?" [03:19.14]He tried his best to speak, but his mouth could hardly move, [03:23.36]And his mother had to turn her face away. [03:28.72]"Don't you remember, Ma, when I went off to war, [03:32.76]You thought it was the best thing I could do? [03:36.88]When I was on that battleground, you were home an’ acting proud. [03:41.18]Be glad that you weren’t standing in my shoes. [03:45.27]And I thought when I was there, ‘God, what am I doing here? [03:50.76]Just tryin’ to kill somebody or DIE tryin'.’ [03:55.69]But the thing that scared me most, when my enemy came up close, [04:00.69]I saw his frightened face looked just like mine. [04:05.83]Lord, just like mine! [04:16.74]Then I couldn't help but think, through that thunder and the stink, [04:20.67]I was only one more puppet in their play. [04:24.92]And through the roar and smoke, that string, it finally broke, [04:28.92]And a blast of fire blew my eyes away." [04:37.35]When the young man tried to walk, his mother was still in shock, [04:42.03]As she saw that metal brace that helped him stand. [04:47.32]But as they turned to go, he held his mother close, [04:52.07]And he dropped his medals down into her hand.