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Amigos w/ Common Interests
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View Next Image >>
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Category: War |
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One angry man SINGS OUT!
If you haven't heard this album . . .
from the WEBSITE linked to Neil Young's oficial site, carries Neil's war views and news: "Living With With War Today"
The Story Behind "When Your Soldier Comes Back Home"
by Martha Ann Brooks, LWW Today
My husband is a combat veteran. Through him and other veterans I've met through the years, I've been exposed to the horrific impact PTSD can and often does have upon those returning home from the battlefield. The facts about PTSD can easily be found through various websites so I won't delve into the details other than to say that it can have a serious, negative impact upon both health and happiness.
The words for "When Your Soldier Comes Back Home" began to fight their way on to paper last year as I saw the current war continuing with no end in sight. I say fight because I wasn't truly prepared to write a song this intensely personal, but the song would not relent and begged to be written. As time went on, I wrote and re-wrote it; I crumpled up and tossed away words put to paper only to retrieve them and began the process anew. I began to hear the song in my head all the time, being sung with harmony like the folk songs of the sixties. I shed many tears as I thought about the future agony facing so many young people in the aftermath of their wartime experiences. Sitting in front of those words was hard because it voiced difficulties I knew from personal experiences with my husband's PTSD. Every word had to be right and I had to be true to this song which was taking on a life of its own.
A few years ago I lost a friend who finally just gave up his struggle with PTSD and ended his life with a self inflicted gunshot. Knowing that the sights, sounds, and even smells of combat are indelibly imprinted within their veteran might help those close to them make their adjustment home a bit easier. Too often the veteran must struggle alone with the demons brought home from the battlefield simply because others have no real comprehension of their inner turmoil.
My hope was (and is) that "...Soldier..." would be heard by those closest to our returning combat vets, would help them to know that their vet's life would be forever altered by their experiences, and would foster greater understanding and compassion for how PTSD was affecting their life.
When I heard that Neil Young's "Living With War" website was asking for songs to be submitted and possibly included in its "Songs of the Times" section, I jumped at the opportunity. Through his website, there have been far more people hearing my song than I could have ever expected with my limited contacts. I am very grateful that Neil Young has made this possible and I hope that my song might somehow make a difference in the lives of the soldiers who were sent to fight and who must now live with the aftermath of war.
Patience Mason, author of Recovering From The War, has written several books on PTSD and I credit her insight with saving my marriage. Her books have provided guidance that seem to be helping both me and my husband to deal with the effects of his PTSD upon our relationship and I highly recommend them to anyone who suspects that PTSD might be affecting someone close to them.
http://www.neilyoung.com/lwwtoday/index.html |
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