The warship had landed and I was ashore
The fighting was over, for me evermore
I was wounded, they left me for dead
Stone for my pillow, an' snow for my bed
The enemy found me, took me away
They made me a prisoner of war, so they say
But God, in his mercy was with me one day
Th gates was left open, an' I ran away
I returned to my old home, n' sweet wife to see
Home I'd built for my darl'in an' me
The door it was open an' there on a stand
Was a picture, of her an' a man
The clothes she was wearing, told the sad tale
My darling was wearing new bridal veil
There was a letter, these words it read
Missing in action, she thought I was dead
I kissed her picture n' whispered good-bye
Poor heart was broken but my eyes were dry
I knew it was to late for her now to learn
I knew she must never know I had returned
A vagabond dreamer forever I'll roam,
because there was no one to welcome me home,
The face of my darling no more will I see
for Missing in Action for ever I'll be.
The fighting was over, for me evermore
I was wounded, they left me for dead
Stone for my pillow, an' snow for my bed
The enemy found me, took me away
They made me a prisoner of war, so they say
But God, in his mercy was with me one day
Th gates was left open, an' I ran away
I returned to my old home, n' sweet wife to see
Home I'd built for my darl'in an' me
The door it was open an' there on a stand
Was a picture, of her an' a man
The clothes she was wearing, told the sad tale
My darling was wearing new bridal veil
There was a letter, these words it read
Missing in action, she thought I was dead
I kissed her picture n' whispered good-bye
Poor heart was broken but my eyes were dry
I knew it was to late for her now to learn
I knew she must never know I had returned
A vagabond dreamer forever I'll roam,
because there was no one to welcome me home,
The face of my darling no more will I see
for Missing in Action for ever I'll be.
Contributed by Alessandro - 2009/10/6 - 15:09
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Credo che si tratti del ritorno dalla guerra di un fantasma...
Canzone scritta da Helen Kays e Arthur Q. Smith e incisa nel 1951 da Ernest Tubb su Decca Records
Testo trovato su The Authentic History Center
I "MiA" statunitensi nella guerra di Corea furono circa 8.000, molti di più i sudcoreani.
Un testo con un tema universale che si ritrova in molte canzoni di ogni epoca incentrate sul ritorno di un soldato qualunque da una qualsiasi guerra, si vedano per esempio Pover suldà o Le retour du marin, ou Brave marin revient de guerre.
Ed il tema è molto più sottile di quanto appare dal melodrammatico racconto in sè: si tratta dell'impossibilità di un vero ritorno per chi è sfuggito alla carneficina di una guerra, per chi avrebbe dovuto morire con tutti gli altri e invece ha avuto il destino di sopravvivere, di essere testimone di quella mostruosità... Un uomo che non avrebbe dovuto tornare, un fantasma, uno zombie, un disadattato che porta con sè un orrore inconciliabile con la vita...
(Bernart Bartleby)