The Wall

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“The Wall” was written in honor of Bruce Springsteen’s friend, Walter Cichon. As leader of the mid-1960s New Jersey bar ban the Motifs, Walter was an idol and mentor to the… Read More

Jan. 14, 20141 viewer13.2K views

The Wall Lyrics

[Verse 1]
Cigarettes and a bottle of beer
This poem that I wrote for you
This black stone and these hard tears
Are all I got left now of you
I remember you in your Marine uniform laughing
Laughing at your ship-out party
I read Robert McNamara says he's sorry

[Verse 2]
Your high boots and striped t-shirt
Ah Billy, you looked so bad
Yeah, you and your rock-n-roll band
You were best thing this shit town ever had
Now the men who put you here
Eat with their families in rich dining halls
And apology and forgiveness got no place here at all
At the wall

[Verse 3]
I'm sorry I missed you last year
Couldn't find no one to drive me
If your eyes could cut through that black stone
Tell me would they recognize me?
For the living time it must be served
The day goes on
Cigarettes and a bottle of beer
Skin on black stone

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[Verse 4]
On the ground, dog tags and wreaths of flowers
With ribbons red as the blood
Red as the blood you spilled in the Central Highlands mud
Limousines rush down Pennsylvania Avenue
Rustling the leaves as they fall
And apology and forgiveness got no place here at all
Here at the wall

About

“The Wall” was written in honor of Bruce Springsteen’s friend, Walter Cichon. As leader of the mid-1960s New Jersey bar ban the Motifs, Walter was an idol and mentor to the teen-aged Springsteen.

On March 30, 1968, while serving in the infantry in Vietnam, Cichon experienced a head wound and was left for dead by his retreating comrades. In a later recovery mission, his body was not found and based on intelligence he was considered to be a POW, or prisoner of war. However, he was never released or located and officially remains missing in action.