Lyrics I Should Be Proud - Martha Reeves & The Vandellas

I Should Be Proud

I was under the dryer when the telegram came:
«Private John C. Miller was shot down in Vietnam»
Through my tears I read: «No more information at this time
He’s missin' in action somewhere on the Delta Line»
And they say that I should be proud;
he was fightin' for me
They say that I should be proud, those too blind to see
But he wasn’t fightin' for me, my Johnny didn’t have to fight for me
He was fightin' for the evils of society
Now I prayed night & day that my Johnny wouldn’t die
Love, faith & hope was all that kept me alive
Then 6 weeks later came that cold & heartless letter:
«Private Johnny was killed in action, number 54 327»
And they say that I should be proud;
he was keepin' me free
They say that I should be proud, those too blind to see
But he wasn’t fightin' for me, my Johnny didn’t have to die for me
He was fightin' for the evils of society
They shipped him home with medals of honor & glory
Even our local paper ran a front-page story
But the whole time gave him praisin' & said how honored I should be
But I don’t want no superstar, just the good man they took from me
And they tell me I should be proud;
he was fightin' for me
They say that I should be proud, those too blind to see
But he wasn’t fightin' for me, my Johnny didn’t have to die for me
He’s a victim of the evils of society
I should be proud of my Johnny
They tell me that I should be proud;
they just don’t want Johnny for me
They tell me that I should be proud of my Johnny…