DBT tracks week 17 - Sands of Iwo Jima

[Clams]

Patterson's greatest love song.


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's 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 was just that way

Just that way.....

When I was just a kid I spent every weekend
On the farm that he grew up on so I guess so did I
And we'd stay up watching movies on the 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 I couldn't 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 goes still every year
And George A's still doing fine, especially for his years
He's still living on that 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 and 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

[The Black Canary]

George is just a stand up guy, a good man, he knew what the right thing was to do and did it. He lived his life this way and hopefully he gave this way of life to his children, grandchildren and other extended family and friends, but I am guessing he did, or this song would not be here.


It is good story telling, back when caring about family, country and home mattered. When people weren't out for what they could get. Do not even know George, but in a way he reminds me of my Papa Eagle. So this does hit home for me.

[Duke Silver]

I like what Patterson does with his voice on the studio version. I wish he'd try it like that live, but I understand why he doesn't.

There's banjo in this, right? I wish DBT had more songs that featured the banjo.

[GuitarManUpstairs]

America's Greatest Generation lived in a world vastly different from today where character, integrity and backbone were values in much greater supply. After Pearl Harbour our president took us into a justified war paid for on the backs of those at home. Americans were asked to go to work rebuilding infrastructure both civilian and military and they made sacrifices both at home and abroad. Flash forward 60 years or so and we were hit again on a similar scale albeit by a very different enemy. This time we were instructed to go shopping and NOT asked to (directly) sacrifice a damn thing. Since then we have flailed about with no tangible goals in terms of the war and at home our 'leaders' politik and those who do try to right the ship so-to-speak by reinvesting in American infrastructure and making strides toward the collective good are decried as socialists and communists. (Nevermind the fascism which is apparently ok....)

I did not really intend for this to turn political...ok maybe alittle...I could go on and on but this ain't the place and I don't have the time. Bottom line America...your shiny car don't mean shit! Get real. LOVE the song!

[Zip City]

I like what Patterson does with his voice on the studio version. I wish he'd try it like that live, but I understand why he doesn't.

whereas I really don't like him using a falsetto

There's banjo in this, right? I wish DBT had more songs that featured the banjo.

me too

[Smitty]

I love the Dirt Underneath version where he explains why he wrote the song and tells a little more about growing up with George A.

http://www.archive.org/details/dbt2007- ... 184.flac16

[wineisgood]

I was just getting into the Truckers and this song in particular when my grandfather neared the end of his life. He wasn't at Iwo Jima, but at a similar hellish battle on a little-known island called Pelelieu. He lost an eye there, and carried shrapnel in his leg the rest of his life. He never talked about it and never complained. He came back from the war, raised his family, went to church every Sunday and tended his garden. Later I read "With The Old Breed" by Eugene Sledge, a harrowing account of the battle that Grandpa survived. Not ashamed to say I wept when I read it. George A, my grandpa and all those men who fought for America deserve our gratitude. I doubt that the country we have now could duplicate the heroism of the Greatest Generation. I am reminded of this every time I hear "Sands." A great piece of storytelling.

[Smitty]

I was just getting into the Truckers and this song in particular when my grandfather neared the end of his life. He wasn't at Iwo Jima, but at a similar hellish battle on a little-known island called Pelelieu. He lost an eye there, and carried shrapnel in his leg the rest of his life. He never talked about it and never complained. He came back from the war, raised his family, went to church every Sunday and tended his garden. Later I read "With The Old Breed" by Eugene Sledge, a harrowing account of the battle that Grandpa survived. Not ashamed to say I wept when I read it. George A, my grandpa and all those men who fought for America deserve our gratitude. I doubt that the country we have now could duplicate the heroism of the Greatest Generation. I am reminded of this every time I hear "Sands." A great piece of storytelling.

Great post

[RevMatt]

The song works because the narrator has to reconcile the gentle man he knows as his great uncle with the harrowing accounts of the war which he only gradually learns about as he gets older. Not even the movie can accurately depict what the men on Iwo Jima went through. One also gets the sense that the experience on Iwo Jima is what made Georga A the loving, gentle man that the narrator grew up with. After surviving Iwo Jima the man has nothing left to prove in his life -- not his toughness or even wealth -- and focuses on what is important; his family and his farm.

[lajakesdad]

I grew up totally obsessed with WWII. I would read every book I could and always came home from the library with a stack of books. My childhood best friend's dad was in Iwo Jima and would tell us kids stories but nothing graphic. He passed away when we were 12 but this song reminds me of him.

I agree, Patterson serves up the emotion in the studio version. Especially the line he jus shook his head and smiled at me in such a loving way. That one can bring on the waterworks in the right setting. Excellent choice Clammers.

[dime in the gutter]

amazing story/songwriting/delivery/performance from patterson.

On the farm that he grew up on so I guess so did I

musically, kinda sounds like a weird dream. lotta cool, creepy, seemingly disjointed, yet spot-on shit going on at once....cept for ezb laying it down steady. that's how i hear it, anyway.

big fan of this side of dbt.

just my opinion.

[Zip City]

it is indeed a great story. the best songs come from truth

[beantownbubba]

Great, great song and performance by Patterson. Heard a fantastic live version in NYC a few yrs back as well.

Hard to believe we're about a dozen posts in and nobody's mentioned the cynicism/sarcasm at the heart of this song, i.e. "I've been to war and war ain't no John Wayne movie," and perhaps (tho I'm less certain) "don't you dare compare movie 'heroes' that never saw combat w/ the men who lived and died out there." As usual, dime is dead on re "he just shook his head and smiled at me in such a loving way" and the rest of that verse. Perfect and says so much w/ so few words. NOTE: the cynicism i refer to is not about George A or his buddies or what they did, but rather about the pseudo patriotism and foolish rose colored views of war fostered by the media and media stars.

George A is a "man's man," he doesn't need a flashy car to prove how big his dick is, nor does he need to convince anyone else by talking about what he did. Men of his time did what had to be done and they didn't talk about it or complain about it, but were never quite comfortable except w/ those who saw what they saw, who knew what they knew. Patterson clearly admires that but i think i also hear some sadness or at least wistfulness about the burden George A and his comrades carry. I'm undecided about whether he's making any point about the different view we sometimes have today about PTSD and so forth.

Is there a difference between a tribute song and a love song? I don't know, Clams, but i'm going w/ the former.

[Clams]

Hard to believe we're about a dozen posts in and nobody's mentioned the cynicism/sarcasm at the heart of this song, i.e. "I've been to war and war ain't no John Wayne movie," and perhaps (tho I'm less certain) "don't you dare compare movie 'heroes' that never saw combat w/ the men who lived and died out there." As usual, dime is dead on re "he just shook his head and smiled at me in such a loving way" and the rest of that verse. Perfect and says so much w/ so few words. NOTE: the cynicism i refer to is not about George A or his buddies or what they did, but rather about the pseudo patriotism and foolish rose colored views of war fostered by the media and media stars.

Once again, I will dispute your claim of cynicism. While George A's line about John Wayne definitely has a touch of "don't you dare compare movie 'heroes' that never saw combat w/ the men who lived and died out there," I think it's also his way of shielding his young nephew from what war is really like. And after that line, I'm sure George A just turned away and the conversation with young Patterson was over.

Is there a difference between a tribute song and a love song? I don't know, Clams, but i'm going w/ the former.

Sometimes they can be one and the same. I see this song as a tribute, love song (call it what you want) to his uncle, to family, to war heroes, to the way people and things used to be. Not just to his uncle but to a lot of things, really.

[beantownbubba]

"Once again"? Not sure what u mean. "Reason to Believe"? I said that there was an argument that the song was cynical, I don't agree w/ it. Take it up w/ Smitty

I don't see how George A is "shielding" his nephew; he's saying that Mr. Wayne don't know shit about the way it went down. Sure he doesn't then go on to describe in gory horrific detail what it really was like but he's giving his nephew an age appropriate head's up. Again, George A is not being cynical about his nephew's question, nor is Patterson being cynical about George A. The point is that George A knew then and Patterson knows now that there are real heroes and there are movie heroes and they don't have much in common.

The song is called "Sands of Iwo Jima" after all. Why is that? It's not exactly a narrative description of the battle, it's not a song about war per se. But there is a movie by that name and it starred John Wayne, and it didn't get it right, not even close, and that's one of the things the song is about (along w/ being a celebration of the real heroes, espy his uncle).

[Penny Lane]

i agree w/BTB, i always get the cynicism about that point when i listen to it..
also agree w/Duke, i love Patterson's voice especially in the part 'starring johhhhhhhn wa eeeeeeeeeeeeene'

[Smitty]

I hope this ain't overstepping boundaries (I assume since we all know the story of George A, we can handle it the same way as when Chester was sick) but I've heard that George A. Johnson isn't doing very well (at all). My grandfather was also a veteran of WW2, and I think we can all agree that those men are heroes in the truest sense of the word. My thoughts and prayers go out to him & his family.

[Smarty Jones]

I hope this ain't overstepping boundaries (I assume since we all know the story of George A, we can handle it the same way as when Chester was sick) but I've heard that George A. Johnson isn't doing very well (at all). My grandfather was also a veteran of WW2, and I think we can all agree that those men are heroes in the truest sense of the word. My thoughts and prayers go out to him & his family.

I've heard the same thing, Smitty - it sounds like George A. isn't going to be with us much longer. I've been keeping him and his family in my thoughts this past week - especially Patterson, who was so close to George A. while he was growing up. It's very saddening, and it must be very hard for them. At least George A. lived a long, fulfilling life. He will be missed.

[Penny Lane]

I think he passed. I can't open the tweet at work, but..Patterson just tweeted..

RIP George A

this probably deserves its own thread..

[Swamp]

I can't believe I never posted on this thread. This is the song that really got my attention the first time I heard the Dirty South.

I grew up totally obsessed with WWII. I would read every book.

I was the same way. My favorite war movie was/still is Otto Preminger's In Harm's Way "staring John Wayne"
A lot of my family has served our country. My youngest brother David was in Iraq when his Seabee unit suffered it's worst
loss the Seabees had since WWII. My other brother Myron was one of the Coast Guard radio operators during the perfect storm.
My dad did 3 tours in Viet Nam. His Uncle Forrest was a forward observer during the battle of the bulge and was credited with
calling in some major strikes. My Uncle Randolf from Alabama was actually at Iwo Jima. His landing craft was sunk a mile off shore
and he was the only survivor.
But when I hear this song I think of my Uncle Memphis, also from Alabama. He was my George A. He wasn't at Iwo Jima but he
was at the battle of the bulge where he was wounded and separated from his unit. When learning he would be assigned to another
unit when he was released from the hospital, he escaped, hiked and hitchhiked across Germany and rejoined his unit. In one of
his stories, he stepped around a corner and was face to face with German soldier with the deepest blue eyes my Uncle had ever seen
and how they fought to the death.
So when I hear this song and on this day I always think of my Uncle Memphis.
And this line always kills me "And I sure wish I could go see him today"
My Uncle Memphis passed within a month of George A.

[Swamp]

I forgot to mention our good friend Jon who a lot of yall have met.
He was on the USS Bunker Hill when it fired the first cruise missile into Iraq
during the second gulf war.

[Flea]

Just finished this book



about Louis Zamperini, an airmen shot down over the Pacific. He spent over 40 days in a raft at sea only to be rescued and impounded as a POW by the Japanese. It doesn't go in depth regarding anything but his story, but - Holy Fuckballs! - what this guy went through, it's amazing he made it out the other end with his health (and, eventually, his psyche) intact. A short, easy read and fascinating stuff.