"Sam Stone" is a song written by John Prine about a drug-addicted veteran with a Purple Heart and his death by overdose.
[4] Parts of the melody of "Sam Stone" were used by Roger Waters in the opening of "The Post War Dream", a song on Pink Floyd's 1983 album The Final Cut.
The song is indirectly referenced in "Cop Shoot Cop...", which closes Spiritualized's 1997 album, Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space – the lyrics "There's a hole in my arm where all the money goes/Jesus Christ died for nothing, I suppose," are almost identical to the memorable refrain of "Sam Stone".
[citation needed] The song has been interpreted by numerous artists, including Swamp Dogg, Al Kooper, and Laura Cantrell, among others.
"[7] "Soldier's Joy", a traditional song from the American Civil War with a similar theme, about morphine and opium.