Country music star Riley Green has found success with songs that offer insightful stories from the perspective of the everyday person.
His latest track tells the story of a veteran he says he once encountered.
Last week, presumably timed with the Veterans Day holiday, Riley Green released the music video for his song “Jesus Saves.”
The song which was released in January of this year is about a homeless veteran he allegedly met in downtown Nashville.
The lyrics of the song suggest that Green spoke with the man about his life and military service after being curious about how he ended up homeless.
However, The Salty Soldier questioned how much of that story is actually true.
In his song, he claims he pulled over to talk with the veteran after seeing him on the side of the road in downtown Nashville.
“There was a man I used to pass
On my way into town
He was covered in dirt like the world had beat him down
I often wondered how he ended up like that
So one day, drivin’ home, I pulled over to asked
I said, ‘Man, where’d did it all go wrong?’
He said, ‘Son, do you really wanna know?'”
The supposed veteran went on to say his father left when he was young and his mother died of cancer when he was eight.
After finishing high school, he was shipped off to war and returned to an ungrateful country. While the song doesn’t specifically say which war he served in it was likely Vietnam as it was infamous for being an unpopular war and the last war the US military was involved in where instituted the draft.
When Riley Green asked the veteran why he was holding a sign that read “Jesus Saves,” the man replied that his story was too long to fit on a sign.
Green said he ended up taking the veteran to a diner, buying him coffee, and listening as the man continued to share the story of his life.
“He said, ‘I lost my job down at the mill when that factory closed
Army stopped sendin’ me them checks, the bank took everything I own
Hitchhiked my way up to Chicago, the nights were too damn cold
I hopped a train, headed West ’cause I had nowhere else to go’”
The veteran’s story is a tragic tale of someone who fell on hard times with no one to help, highlighting the stigma surrounding homeless veterans. It challenges the misconception that they are homeless solely due to war trauma or struggles with conditions like alcoholism.
But is it true?
In an interview, Riley Green revealed that the song was inspired by a real homeless man he saw on the side of the road in downtown Nashville. However, he admitted that he never stopped to talk to him or hear his story.
While the song is undeniably beautifully written, it ironically reflects the reality that many people are unwilling to help. Green, much like the song suggests, drove on without stopping to listen or offer assistance.
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