Harry Chapin - Bummer (audio)

I'll hold up my hands and admit I don't have the guts to represent this song pictorially, but Harry covers it *so* well, who needs pictures? If you hear it and think "racism", you're not listening.

Major thanks to YouTuber wolfmanjim for the following info, much appreciated!

This song is based on the life of Dwight Johnson (with some poetic liberties):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwight_H._Johnson

Blessings to Harry Chapin's family for keeping his spirit alive, please visit for more info:

http://harrychapinmusic.com
http://www.harrychapinfoundation.org
http://www.whyhunger.org
http://www.harrychapinfoodbank.org

Bummer
written and performed by Harry Chapin
from the album "Portrait Gallery" (1975)

His mama was a midnight woman
His daddy was a drifter drummer
One night they put it together
Nine months later came the little black bummer

He was a laid back lump in the cradle
Chewing the paint chips that fell from the ceiling
Whenever he cried he got a fist in his face
So he learned not to show his feelings

He was a pig-tail puller in grammar school
Left back twice by the seventh grade
Sniffing glue in Junior High
And the first one in school to get laid

A weed-speed pusher at fifteen
He was mainlining skag a year later
And he'd started pimping when they put him away
In jail he changed from a junkie to a hater

And just like the man from the precinct said:
"Put him away, you better kill him instead
A bummer like that is better off dead
Someday they're gonna have to put a bullet in his head."

They threw him back on the street, he robbed an A&P
He didn't blink at the body that he shafted
And just about the time they would have caught him too
He had the damn good fortune to get drafted

He was A-1 bait for Vietnam
You see they needed more bodies in a hurry
He was a cinch to train 'cause all they had to do
Was to figure how to funnel his fury

They put him in a tank near the DMZ
To catch the gooks slipping over the border
And they said his mission was to Search and Destroy
And for once he followed an order

One sweat-soaked day in the Yung-Po Valley
With the ground still steaming from the rain
There was a bloody little battle that didn't mean nothing
Except to the few that remained

You see a couple hundred slants had trapped the other five tanks
And had started to pick off the crews
When he came on the scene and it really did seem
This is why he'd paid those dues

It was something like a butcher going berserk
Or a sane man acting like a fool
Or the bravest thing that a man had ever done
Or a madman blowing his cool

Well he came on through like a knife through butter
Or a scythe sweeping through the grass
Or to say it like the man would have said it himself:
"Just a big black bastard kicking ass!"

And just like the man from the precinct said:
"Put him away, you better kill him instead.
A bummer like that is better off dead
Someday they're gonna have to put a bullet in his head."

When it was over and the smoke had cleared
There were a lot of VC bodies in the mud
And when the rescue men came over for the very first time
They found him smiling as he lay in his blood

They picked up the pieces and they stitched him back together
He pulled through though they thought he was a goner
And it forced them to give him what they said they would
6 purple hearts and the Medal of Honor

Of course he slouched as the chief white honky said:
"Service beyond the call of duty!"
But the first soft thought was passing through his mind
"Aww, my medal is a mother of a beauty!"

He got a couple of jobs with the ribbon on his chest
And though he tried he really couldn't do 'em
There were only a couple of things that he was really trained for
And he found himself drifting back to 'em

Just about the time he was ready to break
The VA stopped sending him his checks
Just a matter of time 'cause there weren't no doubt
About what he was gonna do next

It ended up one night in a grocery store
Gun in hand and 9 cops at the door
And when his last battle was over
He lay crumpled and broken on the floor

And just like the man from the precinct said:
"Put him away, you better kill him instead
A bummer like that is better off dead
Someday they're gonna have to put a bullet in his head."

Well he'd breathed his last, but 10 minutes passed
Before they dared to enter the place
And when they flipped his riddled body over they found
His second smile frozen on his face

They found his gun where he'd thrown it
There was something else clenched in his fist
And when they pried his fingers open they found the Medal of Honor
And the Sergeant said: "Where in the hell'd he get this? Ha ha ha ..."

There was a stew about burying him in Arlington
So they shipped him in a box to Fayette
And they stashed him in a grave in the county plot
The kind we remember to forget

And just like the man from the precinct said:
"Put him away, you better kill him instead
A bummer like that is better off dead
Someday they're gonna have to put a bullet in his head."

Category:

Music

Tags:

• harry
• chapin
• music
• 1970s
• 70s

[CDeanWatcher]

All of our returning soldiers need our help. They gave the best years of their lives, most of them. We should remember those who made the ultilmate sacrifice, and honor those who came back and aren't getting the help they need from our own government that sent them off to war.

[TinyDancer500]

@CDeanWatcher Amen, hon, which is exactly what Harry was going for here, I believe.

[victorrob6869]

This song (story) is like all Harry Chapin's work. IT came from his gut and heart. A heart that felt deeply. What is sadder then his untimely death is that radio stations will only play Taxi and Cats Cradle. So much was given to the world by his (IN YOUR FACE) songs. His song The Circle did much for alot of us. At 72 I still turn to it when I need to keep going. Thank you for this song.

[TinyDancer500]

@victorrob6869 Thank *you* for the heartfelt comment. I'm just glad I can share Harry's music, it's all still so relevant.

[wolfmanjim]

Actually, Dwight Johnson (about whom this song is based) is buried at Arlington.

[TinyDancer500]

@wolfmanjim Thank you so much for the info, hon! I had no idea this was based on a real person. I've updated the song info with a Wikipedia link (and credit to yourself).

[hogangoldberg]

It's a damn shame in this P.C. age we always have to apologize for things that warrant no apology. This song is tremendous and pays homage to a misunderstand minority who served his country without question. It is a great song about someone who was never given a fair shake by his elders, but still looked out for his fellow man when it really mattered. It is an inspirational story.

No one but Harry could write such an amazing piece! And if you can't understand its meaning, well, Bummer!

[troakin]

Having been in S.E. Asia in that hell hole known as Viet Nam, i saw this story in person. The last part had to wait until i got back stateside, other than being called names, i saw a few end this way. Harry nailed it. As he usually does in his own way.

[ThePianolover93]

@blisflix i thought the same as my english teacher sayd "analyze this song"

[elimi]

I love Harry Chapin. He is sorely missed. I wish somebody else could do what he did. Somebody sing me a story.

[timstertim1]

@troakin I was in the Marine Corps from 1965-1968. When I was discharged,a friend of mine asked me what I was going to do for a living? The only reply I could come up with was " I don't know, there aren't many employers in civilian life looking for hired killers." Just like there are natural athletes, there are natural musicians, the bummer was a natural hard ass....Met Harry at the Valley Forge Music Fair, It was an honor...

[Holz2323]

are there actualy people that think this song is racisit. this man is a legend

[mbap23]

I've never heard this song before, it grabs you by the throat, wonderful. Harry was a great talent, no-one told stories, or could hold an audience like he did.

[Shadow23Cyrstal4]

Skip to about 1:50 for actuall begining of lyrics