I Can’t Write Left-Handed
Bill Withers
Live At Carnegie Hall, 1973

I mentioned this album before and election week seems like as appropriate a time as any to revisit it with this song. I wonder what would have happened this week if we could have voted on the person who most needs to be voted on…

B.W. does such a good job breaking this song down that I’ll let him do it:

(overdubbed in the studio:)
We recorded this song on October the 6th, since then the war has been declared over. If you’re like me you’ll remember it like anybody remembers any war - one big drag.

(live dialogue from the concert:)
Lotta people write songs about wars, government…very social things. But I think about young guys who are like I was when I was young. I had no more idea about any government or political things or anything. And I think about those kinda young guys now who, all of the sudden somebody comes up, and they’re very law abiding, so if somebody says go, they don’t ask any questions, they just go. And I can remember not too long ago seeing a young guy…with his right arm gone. Just got back, and I asked him how he was doing, he said he was doing alright now but he had thought he was going to die. He said, getting shot at didn’t bother him, it was getting shot that shook him up. And I tried to put myself in his position…maybe he cried, maybe he said…

(1st Verse:)
I can’t write left-handed.
Would you please write a letter - write a letter to my mother?
Tell her to tell - tell her to tell the family lawyer.
Try to get a deferment for my younger brother.
Tell the Rev. Harris to pray for me. Lord, lord, lord.
I ain’t gonna live - I don’t believe I’m gonna live to get much older.
Strange little man over here in Vietnam I ain’t never seen, bless his heart, I ain’t never done nothing to, he done shot me in my shoulder.

(2nd Verse:)
Boot camp we had classes.
You know we talked about fighting - fighting everyday.
And looking through rosy colored glasses, I must admit it seemed exciting, in a way.
Oh, but something that they overlooked to tell me, bullets look better, I must say - brother - rather than when they’re coming at you but going out the other way.
And please call up the Rev. Harris. Tell him to ask the Lord to do some good things for me.
Tell him I ain’t gonna live - I ain’t gonna live to get much older.
Whoa, Lord. Strange little man over here in Vietnam I ain’t never seen - bless his heart - I ain’t never done nothing to, he done shot me in my shoulder.

>> songs are available for two weeks [9.3 MB]

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