We’ve updated our Terms of Use to reflect our new entity name and address. You can review the changes here.
We’ve updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.

Light An Extra Candle

from Singles collection by Gary L. Rebholz

/

about

The year is 1950 and America is bogged down in the Korean war. This song is in the form of a letter written by a very frightened soldier to his father. The song simultaneously asks the father to lie to the mother about the soldier's condition and safety while it tells the narrative of a very frightening night that saves the soldier's life and sends him home, while other soldiers will never make it home alive.

lyrics

24 December, 1950
Stuck out on a hilltop coldest winter in history
They took away our sleeping bags so we won't sleep too hard
It's a deadly game of chance to fall asleep while standing guard

We march 13 hours almost at a run
With 40 pounds upon my back and a heavy mortar gun
Running til we're next to dead and never knowing why
My tired body so overwhelmed that I could drop and cry

Tell mamma I'm comin home
And tell her not to cry
Tell mamma I'm safe and warm
Daddy please tell her this lie
Light an extra candle on the Christmas tree tonight

Freezing beneath my heavy coat a sudden warning cry
Massing there to cross that bridge and overtake our side
The roaring of quad 50s ripping through the night
Enemy flesh is torn to shreds with very little fight

200 cold and glazing eyes upon that bridge
A thousand soldiers marching slow across a distant ridge
We take up our positions along that river road
Persistent premonition it leaves me so damned cold

Muffled voices on the road a sudden cry of hault
With hand grenade tensions explode and all hell is breaking out
I never thought I'd shoot a man but survival's a savage need
Two clips empty into the night knowing well it's them or me

Don't know how many I caused to die shooting blind at best
I only know the next GI lies lifeless, faceless, dead
Then turn to realize my fighting friends have all pulled back
Out in no-man's land I face my own outfit's attack

Tell mamma I'm comin home
And tell her not to cry
Tell mamma I'm safe and warm
Daddy please tell her that lie
Daddy I'm so scared tonight
Put an extra candle on the Christmas tree tonight

The aftermath is strangely quiet in dawning of new day
It's only then I realize shrapnel's torn apart my leg
And even as I'm helping in the loading of the dead
My mind is halfway beneath the covers of a warm hospital bed

Tell mamma I'm comin home
And tell her not to cry
Tell mamma I'm safe and warm
Daddy this time it ain't a lie
Daddy I got lucky last night
Put an extra candle on the Christmas tree tonight

credits

from Singles collection, released February 16, 2017
Guitar and vocal: Gary L. Rebholz

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

Gary L. Rebholz Madison, Wisconsin

Songwriter, singer, and musician, Gary writes and records in a number of different genres. His music is influenced by early country, rockabilly, rock and roll, and acoustic blues styles, resulting in a roots rock/Americana sound with shades of Johnny Cash, Elvis, The Beatles, Paul Simon, and Springsteen. Acoustic and electric instruments combine for a wide range of styles, sounds, and emotions. ... more

contact / help

Contact Gary L. Rebholz

Streaming and
Download help

Report this track or account

If you like Gary L. Rebholz, you may also like: