The song is sung from the perspective of a Vietnam War veteran. The protagonist tells the story of how he volunteered to go to Vietnam in 1964 at age sixteen, despite being raised to never kill anyone. After losing his leg, he is sent home with a Purple Heart. In the present day, his niece is a prostitute, and his nephew is a drug addict, both of whom insist he has no right to tell them they are wrong in their ways. He reads in the newspaper that another war is on its way, and he remembers the 'many happy families that have been ruined.'[citation needed]
