John Brown went off to war to fight on a foreign shore. His mama sure was proud of him! He stood straight and tall in his uniform and all. His mama's face broke out all in a grin. "Oh son, you look so fine, I'm glad you're a son of mine, You make me proud to know you hold a gun. Do what the captain says, lots of medals you will get, And we'll put them on the wall when you come home." As that old train pulled out, John's ma began to shout, Tellin' ev'ryone in the neighborhood: "That's my son that's about to go, he's a soldier now, you know." She made well sure her neighbors understood. She got a letter once in a while and her face broke into a smile As she showed them to the people from next door. And she bragged about her son with his uniform and gun, And these things you called a good old-fashioned war. Oh! Good old-fashioned war! Then the letters ceased to come, for a long time they did not come. They ceased to come for about ten months or more. Then a letter finally came saying, "Go down and meet the train. Your son's a-coming home from the war." She smiled and went right down, she looked everywhere around But she could not see her soldier son in sight. But as all the people passed, she saw her son at last, When she did she could hardly believe her eyes. Oh his face was all shot up and his hand was all blown off And he wore a metal brace around his waist. He whispered kind of slow, in a voice she did not know, While she couldn't even recognize his face! Oh! Lord! Not even recognize his face. "Oh tell me, my darling son, pray tell me what they done. How is it you come to be this way?" He tried his best to talk but his mouth could hardly move And the mother had to turn her face away. "Don't you remember, Ma, when I went off to war You thought it was the best thing I could do? I was on the battleground, you were home . . . acting proud. You wasn't there standing in my shoes." "Oh, and I thought when I was there, God, what am I doing here? I'm a-tryin' to kill somebody or die tryin'. But the thing that scared me most was when my enemy came close And I saw that his face looked just like mine." Oh! Lord! Just like mine! "And I couldn't help but think, through the thunder rolling and stink, That I was just a puppet in a play. And through the roar and smoke, this string is finally broke, And a cannon ball blew my eyes away." As he turned away to walk, his Ma was still in shock At seein' the metal brace that helped him stand. But as he turned to go, he called his mother close And he dropped his medals down into her hand.

The 50th Anniversary Collection 1963 is the second Bob Dylan collection released by Sony Music to prevent the recordings from legally entering the public domain in Europe. Released on vinyl only in November 2013 only 100 copies of the six-LP set were produced. Track listing LP 1 Side A Eternal Circle (Take 4) Percys Song (Take 1) Thats All Right, Mama/Sally Free and Easy (Take 1) Hero Blues (Take 3) East Laredo Blues (Take 1) Bob Dylans New Orleans Rag (Take 2) tracks 1 & 4 recorded 12 August 1963, tracks 2, 3 & 5 recorded 23 October, track 6 recorded 24 October during The Times They Are a-Changin sessions LP 1 Side B The Banjo Tape Lonesome River Edge Back Door Blues Bob Dylans Dream You Can Get Her Farewell All Over You Instrumental in Gerdes Basement/Jam Keep Your Hands Off Her (Leadbelly) Honey Babe Goin Back To Rome Stealin' all tracks recorded 2 August 1963 at the Basement of Gerdes Folk City. Tracks 7, 9, 12 with Happy Traum, track 12 with Gil Turner LP 2 Side C Ballad of Hollis Brown recorded for the Folk Songs and More Folk Songs TV Special, 3 March 1963 Girl from the North Country Only A Hobo tracks 2 & 3 recorded for the Oscar Brand Show/World of Folk Music, March 1963 Ramblin Down Through the World Bob Dylans Dream Talkin New York Hiding Too Long LP 2 Side D Ballad of Hollis Brown Walls of Red Wing All Over You Talkin John Birch Paranoid Blues Boots of Spanish Leather LP 3 Side E Hero Blues John Brown A Hard Rains a-Gonna Fall Dusty Old Fairgrounds Who Killed Davey Moore? LP 3 Side F Seven Curses Highway 51? Pretty Peggy-O Bob Dylans New Orleans Rag Dont Think Twice, Its All Right With God On Our Side tracks 47, side C and sides D-F recorded at the Town Hall, New York City, 12 April 1963 LP 4 Side G James Alley Blues Long Time Gone Only a Hobo Untitled Blues Jam A Hard Rains a-Gonna Fall tracks 15 recorded at the home of Eve and Mac McKenzie, 18 April 1963 Honey, Just Allow Me One More Chance Talkin John Birch Paranoid Blues LP 4 Side H Bob Dylans Dream Ballad of Hollis Brown Talkin World War III Blues A Hard Rains a-Gonna Fall With God on Our Side tracks 67, side G and side H recorded at The Bear folk club, Chicago, 25 April 1963 LP 5 Side I Farewell A Hard Rains a-Gonna Fall Bob Dylans Dream Boots of Spanish Leather John Brown LP 5 Side J Who Killed Davey Moore? Blowin in the Wind Tracks 1 & 2, side J recorded for the Studs Terkel Wax Museum radio show, Chicago, 26 April 1963 Blowin in the Wind Only a Pawn in Their Game tracks 3 & 4 recorded for the Songs of Freedom TV show, New York City, 30 July 1963 When the Ship Comes In Only a Pawn in Their Game tracks 5 & 6 recorded at the Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington, 28 August 1963. Track 5 with Joan Baez LP 6 Side K Blowin in the Wind Percys Song Seven Curses Walls of Red Wing LP 6 Side L Talkin World War III Blues Dont Think Twice, Its All Right Only a Pawn in Their Game Masters of War The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll sides K & L recorded at Carnegie Hall, New York City, 26 October 1963