Prisoners

Verse 1
I drove up to the stoplight and a man walked up to me
He had a shirt that said, ”America Home of the Free”
He held up the latest headlines of the day
I rolled down my window to hear what he had to say

Chorus
He said I’ll trade you a paper for a dollar or a beer
Sometimes I get a little more and sometimes just a sneer
I was a prisoner of war in nineteen seventy four
But I’m not supposed to be a prisoner anymore

Verse 2
He had some old tattoos on his sun-leathered skin
His ponytail had turned to gray and the top was getting thin
There were only a couple minutes before the light turned green
But time enough to question what it means to be free

Bridge
I handed him the dollar ‘cause I didn’t have a beer
I said I could never understand since I wasn’t there
He said, “That’s okay brother, God bless you anyway”
I smiled and said, “God bless you, too” as I drove away

© 2006 David Argentati