Our last American holiday is a serious one. On 11 November, the same day as Armistice Day in Europe, Americans honour their veterans: everyone who has served in the armed forces. Tonight’s songs come from the time of the Vietnam War, when America was deeply divided.
Learn from Songs · Festivals: American Holidays · Part 3 of 3 · C1–C2
Veterans Day: Sam Stone and Fortunate Son
Part 3: 11 November, Veterans Day, when Americans honour everyone who has served in the armed forces, and the Vietnam War songs that asked hard questions about who fights, and what happens to them when they come home. Third and mixed conditionals of regret, inversion (Had he stayed at home…), wish + past perfect, and reporting a divided debate, with Philo, Sophia, Marcos and Demetria. Note: “Sam Stone” deals with addiction and death.
SOPHIA
PHILO
Divided how?
SOPHIA
Over whether the war was right, and over who had to fight it. One song tells of a soldier who comes home wounded and can’t find his way back to normal life. The other is an angry protest about rich young men who avoided the war. Before we listen: the first song is about addiction, and it is sad.
DEMETRIA
We’ll listen carefully, then.
Before you listen: the song
The United States, 1965–1975
Veterans Day began as Armistice Day, marking the end of the First World War at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, 1918. In 1954 it was renamed to honour veterans of all wars. (Memorial Day, in May, remembers those who died in service.) The Vietnam War (1955–1975) cost the lives of about 58,000 Americans and of millions of Vietnamese. Many young men were drafted, that is, called up by law; those who could stay at university or had family connections were often able to avoid it. Many veterans came home to a hostile or indifferent country, and some suffered for years from their wounds, from what we now call post-traumatic stress, and from addiction.
“Sam Stone” (1971), by the songwriter John Prine (1946–2020), a former US Army soldier and Chicago postman, tells the story of a veteran who comes home with a medal and a wound, becomes addicted to the painkillers he was given, and dies, leaving his young daughter. It is one of the most respected songs ever written about the cost of war. “Fortunate Son” (1969), by Creedence Clearwater Revival, written by John Fogerty, who had served in the Army Reserve, is an angry protest about the privileged “fortunate sons” of the rich and powerful who never have to fight. Kate Bush’s “Army Dreamers” (1980), about a mother whose young son dies in the army, takes up the same theme in Britain.
Two views: many Americans see the war as a tragic mistake and honour veterans precisely because they were sent into it; others believe the war was a justified stand against the spread of communism, and that veterans were betrayed at home by the protest movement. Almost everyone today agrees that the way returning soldiers were treated was wrong, and Veterans Day is a day to honour their service, whatever one thinks of the war.
Honour those who serve, and care for them when they come home.
Listen: two songs, two angles
PHILO
Listen to “Sam Stone”. What does Sam bring home from the war? What happens to him and to his family? Then listen to “Fortunate Son”: who is the singer angry with?
SOPHIA
Remember: the first song is about addiction and death. Listen for the story and the feeling. Then answer Section A.
🎖️ Listen to the song: “Sam Stone” (John Prine, 1971), by John Prine.Find the recording →
🪖 And listen to: “Fortunate Son” (John Fogerty, 1969), by Creedence Clearwater Revival.Find the recording →
Third and mixed conditionals of regret
MARCOS
If he hadn’t been wounded, he wouldn’t have needed the painkillers. If he had been given proper care, he might still be alive today.
SOPHIA
Third conditional: if + past perfect, would have + past participle (an imaginary past). Mixed: a past cause with a present result (might still be alive). The grammar of regret and of “what if?”
Inversion in conditionals
DEMETRIA
Had he stayed at home, he would never have been hurt. Had the country listened, many lives could have been saved. Were it not for the draft, he would never have gone.
SOPHIA
In formal English, Had + subject + past participle replaces If… had…; Were it not for = if it weren’t for. Powerful in speeches and essays.
Wish + past perfect, and reporting a divided debate
PHILO
His daughter wishes he had come home safe. Many veterans wish they had been welcomed. Some historians contend that the war was unwinnable; others maintain that it was a necessary stand.
SOPHIA
wish / if only + past perfect for regrets about the past. And for history that divides people: contend, maintain, it is widely acknowledged that, whatever one’s view of…
Sophia’s comparison: Odysseus at the plough, and the Torah’s exemptions
SOPHIA
When the Greek kings gathered for Troy, Odysseus pretended to be mad to avoid going: he ploughed his field and sowed it with salt. They put his baby son in front of the plough, and he turned aside, and so he had to go. Even heroes have tried to escape the call-up.
PHILO
And the Torah sends home, before a battle, the man who has built a new house, planted a vineyard, or just married, and the man who is afraid. But the rules apply to rich and poor alike. A fair law asks the same of every family: that is what “Fortunate Son” is angry about.
Sophia’s summary
| Words and forms | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| If + past perfect, would have + past participle | third conditional (regret) | If he hadn’t been wounded… |
| If + past perfect, might / would + verb | mixed conditional | …he might still be alive today. |
| Had he stayed… / Were it not for… | conditional inversion | Had he stayed at home, he would have lived. |
| wish / if only + past perfect | regret about the past | She wishes he had come home safe. |
| contend / maintain / whatever one’s view of | reporting a divided debate | Whatever one’s view of the war… |
Practice
Listen to the song for Section A, then do the rest. Press “Check my answers” at the end. You can try again as many times as you like.
A · Listen: the song
Listen to the song and choose the best answer.
1. What was Veterans Day originally called?
2. What does Veterans Day honour?
3. What happens to Sam Stone?
4. Who is “Fortunate Son” angry with?
5. What did John Prine do before he was a singer?
6. What does almost everyone agree on today?
B · Grammar and vocabulary
Write the missing word or words.
7. If he hadn’t been wounded, he wouldn’t needed the painkillers.
8. If he had been given proper care, he might still alive today.
9. he stayed at home, he would never have been hurt.
10. it not for the draft, he would never have gone.
11. She wishes he come home safe.
12. one’s view of the war, veterans deserve care.
C · Right or wrong?
Is the sentence correct English?
13. “If he would have stayed, he would have lived.”
14. “Had they listened, many lives could have been saved.”
15. “She wishes he came home safe.” (about the past)
16. “Were it not for the draft, he would never have gone.”
Talk and write
Discussion and writing
Interview. If you can, interview someone who has served in the armed forces, or read a veteran’s account. Report it carefully, without putting words in their mouth.
Discuss. 1. Is it fair that some people avoid military service because of money or connections? 2. How should a country care for its veterans? 3. Can we honour soldiers and still question a war?
Write (240–280 words, C2 essay). “A nation is judged by how it treats those who come home.” Discuss, using conditionals of regret, inversion and the language of a divided debate.
Now play the gamebook: a soldier comes home to Alexandria, and finds that the city has moved on without him.Play the gamebook →