Sam Stone

E875533

"Sam Stone" is a poignant folk song by John Prine that tells the tragic story of a Vietnam War veteran’s struggle with addiction and its impact on his family.

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Statements (47)

Predicate Object
instanceOf song
addressesIssue drug policy and addiction
economic insecurity of veterans
veterans’ mental health
composer John Prine NERFINISHED
containsCharacter Sam Stone’s children (unnamed)
Sam Stone’s wife (unnamed)
countryOfOrigin United States of America
surface form: United States
creator John Prine NERFINISHED
criticalReception widely acclaimed as one of John Prine’s most powerful songs
depicts consequences of war
economic hardship
impact of addiction on family
substance abuse
firstReleaseArtist John Prine NERFINISHED
genre country folk
folk
hasCoverVersionBy Johnny Cash NERFINISHED
other folk and country artists
hasCulturalSignificance considered a classic of American folk songwriting
hasNotableLyric “Jesus Christ died for nothin’ I suppose”
“There’s a hole in daddy’s arm where all the money goes”
hasPerspective third-person narrative
hasSubject addiction and poverty
cost of war
veterans’ reintegration into civilian life
includedIn album ‘John Prine’
influenced subsequent anti-war and social-issue songwriting
language English
lyricalStyle storytelling ballad
lyricist John Prine NERFINISHED
mainCharacter Sam Stone (fictional Vietnam War veteran) NERFINISHED
musicalStyle acoustic folk
narrativeTheme Vietnam War veteran
drug addiction
family breakdown
heroin addiction
post-traumatic stress
social commentary
originalAlbumArtist John Prine NERFINISHED
performer John Prine NERFINISHED
portrays cycle of addiction and financial ruin
setting American working-class family
targetAudience general adult audience
timePeriodDepicted post–Vietnam War era
tone poignant
tragic

Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

John Prine notableWork Sam Stone