John Doe
The Code Lyrics


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There was this wise man I once knew
Who lived down my street a block or 2
In a back alley where the autumn leaves blew
A simple man with a heart so true

John Doe was a quiet man, who kept to himself and lived off the land
He panned his living with a rusty tin can
Been living off the streets since Vietnam

When Johnny came marching home
From the Vietnam war he was alone

Slapped with a label, he hid his face, the nightmare of war
Was one he couldn't erase, when Johnny came marching home
(He said) I can't let go, I can't forget

25 years later, that smell I still remember
As I watched so many young men lose their lives, on that battlefield
To Vietnam they sent us barely, old enough they placed us
On the front lines in a land we had no place...We had no place!!!

On the day I left that battlefield, I might as well have died
Because nothing in my life this far, has ever felt quite right
And each and everyday I try to pick the pieces up
But the pieces never seem to fit, the pain becomes too much

It's hard to describe, so hard to relate, it's hard letting go
When you can't escape
To think that when we came home our country turned its back
And labeled us all murderers, spit on us, spit on us and laughed

He spoke with such convicting words, I felt like I was there
A simple frail and shattered soul, the soldier never dies he sang




I thought about how it must feel to watch all your friends die
So far away so far from home, fighting wars we had no place!

Overall Meaning

The Code's song "John Doe" is a powerful tribute to a Vietnam veteran who returns to a world that doesn't understand him. The song starts by introducing John Doe as a wise and simple man who lives on the streets. The lyrics explain that he was a veteran of the Vietnam war who returned home alone and traumatized. John Doe hides from the world and keeps to himself, haunted by the nightmares of war.


The second verse describes John Doe's experience in Vietnam, where he was sent to fight as a young man. He watched his friends die on the battlefield and was forever changed by the experience. When he returned home, he was labeled a murderer and spit on by his country. The lyrics express the pain and frustration that John Doe feels, as he tries to pick up the pieces of his life and find some kind of peace.


The chorus of the song repeats the phrase "when Johnny came marching home" and emphasizes how alone John Doe feels in the world. The final verse of the song speaks to the universal experience of trauma and loss, as the singer reflects on how hard it is to let go of pain and move forward. The Code's lyrics are a powerful statement about the toll that war takes on those who fight it and the importance of honoring and respecting our veterans.


Line by Line Meaning

There was this wise man I once knew
The song starts by telling us about a wise man who lived close by and whom the singer admired.


Who lived down my street a block or 2
This wise man lived just a few blocks away from where the singer grew up.


In a back alley where the autumn leaves blew
The wise man dwelled in a small alley where the leaves of fall rustled around.


A simple man with a heart so true
The person in question was someone straightforward and honest, with a kind heart.


John Doe was a quiet man, who kept to himself and lived off the land
The song tells us about a character called John Doe, who was a solitary person that lived off the land surrounding him.


He panned his living with a rusty tin can
John Doe managed to earn his livelihood by panning with a tin can in search of precious metals like gold.


Been living off the streets since Vietnam
John Doe had been homeless and had been living on the streets ever since the Vietnam War.


When Johnny came marching home
This phrase is a reference to a song popular back in the day, about soldiers returning home after the war.


From the Vietnam war he was alone
John Doe was among the many soldiers and veterans that returned home alone and in a deeply shaken state from their experiences in Vietnam.


Slapped with a label, he hid his face, the nightmare of war
John Doe was given a label of being a war criminal, which led him to hide his face in shame. His experience of war had become a literal nightmare that haunted him.


Was one he couldn't erase, when Johnny came marching home
The trauma John experienced during the Vietnam War had left a deep mark on him that he couldn't forget, even upon returning home.


He said, 'I can't let go, I can't forget'
The artist shares John Doe's words about how he couldn't let go or forget the horrors of war that he'd suffered.


25 years later, that smell I still remember
The song jumps forward in time, with the singer looking back at the events that took place a quarter of a century ago. He still remembers the vivid smell of war and its aftermath.


As I watched so many young men lose their lives, on that battlefield
The singer remembers watching as countless young soldiers were killed in battle.


To Vietnam they sent us barely, old enough they placed us
The song talks about how young soldiers were sent to Vietnam, barely of age to fight, to serve in a war they hardly understood.


On the front lines in a land we had no place...We had no place!!!
These lines express how the soldiers were thrown into the fray and sent to the front lines, in a land that was foreign to their own sense of place and belonging.


On the day I left that battlefield, I might as well have died
The artist talks about how he felt dead on the inside, as he left the warzone and was expected to return to civilian life.


Because nothing in my life this far, has ever felt quite right
The war had drained the singer of his sense of purpose and happiness. He struggled to find anything in his life that felt right after his experience in Vietnam.


And each and everyday I try to pick the pieces up
The singer tried hard each day to put together the broken pieces of his life and move forward.


But the pieces never seem to fit, the pain becomes too much
Despite his efforts, the artist feels that his life after the Vietnam War never fully takes shape. The trauma he suffered becomes too difficult to bear.


It's hard to describe, so hard to relate, it's hard letting go
The song talks about the difficulty in conveying the magnitude of the pain and trauma that soldiers endured in Vietnam. It's hard to let go of the trauma war brought into one's life.


When you can't escape
The trauma of war is something that one can never fully escape from.


To think that when we came home our country turned its back
The singer shares John Doe's sentiment about feeling unappreciated and abandoned by his country upon returning home from the war.


And labeled us all murderers, spit on us, spit on us and laughed
The soldiers were not only neglected by their home country but also labeled as murderers, and even spat on and laughed at for their service in the Vietnam War.


He spoke with such convicting words, I felt like I was there
The singer talks about how John Doe's words during their conversation were so powerful and vivid that he felt as though he was transported back in time.


A simple frail and shattered soul, the soldier never dies he sang
The song acknowledges the fact that soldiers like John Doe never fully recover from the trauma of war. They carry scars that remain with them always.


I thought about how it must feel to watch all your friends die
The singer describes how he imagines the pain of losing fellow soldiers and friends on the battlefield must be unbearable and a horror that one never forgets.


So far away so far from home, fighting wars we had no place!
The song ends by reiterating the fact that the soldiers sent to Vietnam were far away from their homes, fighting in a land that they did not understand nor belong to. The war was a great tragedy.




Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS

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