John Brown went off to war to fight on a foreign shore.
His mama sure was proud of him!
He stood straight and tall in his uniform and all.
His mama's face broke out all in a grin.

Oh son, you look so fine, I'm glad you're a son of mine,
You make me proud to know you hold a gun.
Do what the captain says, lots of medals you will get,
And we'll put them on the wall when you come home.

As that old train pulled out, John's ma began to shout,
Tellin' ev'ryone in the neighborhood:
That's my son that's about to go, he's a soldier now, you know.
She made well sure her neighbors understood.

She got a letter once in a while and her face broke into a smile
As she showed them to the people from next door.
And she bragged about her son with his uniform and gun,
And these things you called a good old-fashioned war.

Oh! Good old-fashioned war!

Then the letters ceased to come, for a long time they did not come.
They ceased to come for about ten months or more.
Then a letter finally came saying, Go down and meet the train.
Your son's a-coming home from the war.

She smiled and went right down, she looked everywhere around
But she could not see her soldier son in sight.
But as all the people passed, she saw her son at last,
When she did she could hardly believe her eyes.

Oh his face was all shot up and his hand was all blown off
And he wore a metal brace around his waist.
He whispered kind of slow, in a voice she did not know,
While she couldn't even recognize his face!

Oh! Lord! Not even recognize his face.

Oh tell me, my darling son, pray tell me what they done.
How is it you come to be this way?
He tried his best to talk but his mouth could hardly move
And the mother had to turn her face away.

Don't you remember, Ma, when I went off to war
You thought it was the best thing I could do?
I was on the battleground, you were home . . . acting proud.
You wasn't there standing in my shoes.

Oh, and I thought when I was there, God, what am I doing here?
I'm a-tryin' to kill somebody or die tryin'.
But the thing that scared me most was when my enemy came close
And I saw that his face looked just like mine.

Oh! Lord! Just like mine!

And I couldn't help but think, through the thunder rolling and stink,
That I was just a puppet in a play.
And through the roar and smoke, this string is finally broke,
And a cannon ball blew my eyes away.

As he turned away to walk, his Ma was still in shock
At seein' the metal brace that helped him stand.
But as he turned to go, he called his mother close
And he dropped his medals down into her hand.

OHN BROWN

John Brown se fue a la guerra
en una tierra extranjera,
su madre estaba tan orgullosa de él...
Tan alto y tan tieso
con su uniforme puesto,
su madre iba con una gran sonrisa a flor de piel

"Oh, que bien luces, cariño,
que placer que seas hijo mío,
que alegría verte con el fusil;
haz lo que el capitán manda
y ganarás muchas medallas
que en la pared pondremos para presumir "

Cuando el viejo tren echó a andar
la madre se puso a gritar
a todo el que la quería oír:
"Es mi hijo muy amado
ya lo veis, es un soldado
que se marcha a luchar por su país."

De vez en cuando le llegaba
una foto, alguna carta,
y sonreía cuando la iba a enseñar
alardeaba de su hijo
con aquel fusil tan bonito
y eso que llaman una vieja guerra tradicional

Después, pasado un tiempo
ya más cartas no vinieron
ninguna durante diez meses o más.
Y por fin una llegó:
-Vaya p___to a la estación
es su hijo, que de la guerra vuelve ya.-

Con aquella gran sonrisa
miraba abajo y arriba
su hijo no aparecía por ninguna parte.
Cuando todos se fueron
por fin acertó a verlo
sin creer aquello que tenía delante

Con la cara destrozada
una mano le faltaba
llevaba en la cintura un metálico corsé
Con una voz muy extraña
parecía que la hablaba
y ella ni su voz ni su rostro podía conocer.

"Oh, hijo, mi hijo tan bueno,
dime..dime..¿que te han hecho
para que vuelvas en estado semejante?"
John quería contarlo
pero apenas tenía labios
y ella apartó los ojos ¡Oh Dios,! para no mirarle

"No te acuerdas, madre buena
que cuando me fui a la guerra
tu decías que era lo mejor que podía hacer?
Claro, yo en el campo de batalla
y tú tan orgullosa en casa...
pero tú no estabas metida allí en mi piel...

Oh, y estando allí
pensaba ¡Oh Señor, que hago yo aquí
tratando de matar o de morir bajo los tiros?
Pero lo que más me asustó
fue cuando el enemigo me miró
y vi que su rostro era exactamente igual al mío.

Y no pude evitar
entre aquel hedor pensar
que yo no era mas que una marioneta tan solo
y entre el humo y el estruendo
al final estalló el cielo
y una bala de cañón se llevó mis ojos "

Cuando John ya se marchaba
su madre aún conmocionada
miraba el corsé que lo mantenía levantado ;
pero , antes de dejarla,
John pidió a su madre que se acercara
y dejó caer las medallas en su mano.

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