War in Country Music

Riding with Private Malone by David Ball

"I was just out of the service thumbing through the classifieds
When an ad that said:"Old Chevy" somehow caught my eye
The lady didn't know the year,or even if it ran
But I had that thousand dollars in my hand

It was way back in the corner of this old ramshackle barn
With thirty years of dust and dirt on that green army tarp
And when I pulled the cover off, it took away my breath
What she called a Chevy was a sixty six Corvette

I felt a little guilty as I counted out the bills
Oh what a thrill I got when I sat behind the wheel
I opened up the glove box and that's when I found the note
The date was nineteen-sixty six and this is what he wrote:

He said, "My name is Private Andrew Malone"
"And If you're reading this, then I didn't make it home"
"But for every dream that shattered, another one comes true"
"This car was once a dream of mine, now it belongs to you"
"Though you may take her and make her your own"
"You'll always be riding with Private Malone"

Well it didn't take me long at all, I had her running good
I love to hear those horses thunder underneath her hood
I had her shining like a diamond and I'd put the rag top down
All the pretty girls would stop and stare as I drove her through town

The buttons on the radio didn't seem to work quite right
But it picked up that oldies show, especially late at night
I'd get the feeling sometimes, if I turned real quick I'd see
A soldier ridin' shotgun in the seat right next to me

It was a young man named Private Andrew Malone
Who fought for his country and never made it home
But for every dream that's shattered, another one comes true
This car was once a dream of his back when it was new
He told me to take her and make her my own
And I was proud to be riding with Private Malone

One night it was raining hard, I took the curve too fast
I still dont remember much about that fiery crash
But someone said they thought they saw a soldier pull me out
They didn't get his name, but I know without a doubt

It was a young man named Private Andrew Malone
Who fought for his country and never made it home
But for every dream that's shattered, another one comes true
This car was once a dream of his back when it was new
And I know I wouldn't be here if he hadn't tagged along
That night I was riding with Private Malone
Oh, thank God, I was riding with Private Malone"


Soldiers go into wars for plenty of different reasons. Whether they need to go to college and need the money or even if they don't plan on going to college. Every soldier has his or her reason. If the soldiers are lucky enough to make it out of the war, the payment from the army will hopefully pay for their goal. David Ball, a country music artist, has written many songs about war and his song "Riding with Private Malone" doesn't have a whole lot of poetic devices going on, but the couple that it has are easy to pick up and find.

Judging from the first line "I was just out of the service thumbing through the classifieds" it's obvious that the song is a narrative. If the first line doesn't tell you this, surely the rest of the stanza will. Many country songs are narratives so it is no surprise that this one is as well. At the end of the first stanza "But I had that thousand dollars in my hand" it becomes clear that the narrator enlisted for the money. Also after the first stanza, there's no doubt that there is an AABB rhyme scheme.

In the second stanza, third line, is some personification. "And when I pulled the cover off, it took away my breath" It is implied that a cover took away the narrator's breath which covers cannot actually do. From what i can tell there is one example of irony which is "The buttons on the radio didn't seem to work quite right/
But it picked up that oldies show, especially late at night." This is a stretch but having a radio that doesn't really work at all except for oldies music, which generally isn't that great to modern people, is kind of ironic because the narrator probably wouldn't listen to the oldies.

All in all, this song has more poetic devices then current music, even though it was made in 2001. It shows how there has been a steady decrease of poetic devices in modern music, but in country there's usually just a little bit more.