My name is Penny Evans

They say the war is over, but I think it's just begun

Jun 07, 2025

Welcome to new students and regular readers! Thank you for joining us for today’s song, “The Ballad of Penny Evans” by Steve Goodman (1972). If you’d like to hear the song before you read about it, I’ve included a YouTube video below the article.
Below, you’ll find my interpretation of the lyrics which are written in italics. For Japanese students, vocabulary words in bold are provided in Japanese below. TOEIC (PBT) 450+, Eiken 2, CEFR B1.

La veuve. This war memorial in Merris (North of France) was sculpted by Maurice Ringot and unveiled in the 1920s. The picture shows a detail of the composition : the human-scale statue of a WWI French soldier’s widow is in front of a plaque reading the names of war victims that were born in Merris. The widow is tearful, and the cracks on her body (due to the weather as the memorial is situated outside, on a public place) emphasises the dramatic effect of the scene. (Photo: Louise F-D, Wikimedia Commons)

(783 words)
The Vietnam War was a long and difficult war that lasted from 1959 to 1975. The United States got more involved in the war around 1964. During the war, many American men were required to join the military through something called the draft.
From 1964 to 1973, about 2 million men were drafted into the U.S. military. Most of the men who were drafted were about 22 years old.

Most men who were drafted served in the military for 12 to 18 months. Some served longer, especially if they were in combat or were hurt and needed more time to recover.

The song is sung from the view of a young woman. She explains her life as a soldier’s wife.
Oh, my name is Penny Evans and my age is twenty-one
A young widow in the war that was fought in Viet Nam
And I have two infant daughters, and I do the best I can
Now they say the war is over, but I think it's just begun

She sings about a song called Heart and Soul. It’s a very easy song to play on the piano, especially if one person plays the left hand part and the other person plays the right had part. There’s a video at the end of this article if you’d like to hear it.
And I remember I was seventeen on the day I met young Bill
At his father's grand piano, we'd play good old “Heart and Soul”
And I only knew the left hand part and he the right so well
And he's the only boy I ever slept with and the only one I will

They get married and have a baby, but then a 1-A notice came. The government had a system for drafting men. It also had a way to put the men into categories. For example, 1-A meant you were able to go into the military right away. 2-D meant you were in school and didn’t have to serve right away. 4-F meant you weren’t able to serve for medical or psychological reasons.
It's first we had a baby girl and we had two good years
And, it was next the 1-A notice came and we parted without tears

After her husband left, she found out she was pregnant with their second baby.
And it was nine months from our last good night our second babe appears
And so it's ten months and a telegram confirming all our fears
“A telegram” refers to the message that is sent to a family when a soldier was killed. This confirmed what they had been afraid would happen.

In 1968, the U.S. government started a new program to help the families of soldiers who died. This program gave money each month to widows (wives of dead soldiers) to help them and their children. The amount of money they received depended on how the soldier died and how many family members were left behind. Amounts depended on the widow’s circumstances. As an example, the widow received between $120 and $200 a month back then (approximately $1,000 - $1,700 in today’s dollars).
And now every month I get a check from an Army bureaucrat
And it's every month I tear it up and I mail the damn thing back
Do you think that makes it all right, do you think I'd fall for that?
To “fall for” something means to be tricked into believing something. Here, she is saying she will not believe that money makes everything all right.

And you can keep your bloody money, it sure won't bring my Billy back
She didn’t want the money. She was angry with the government for allowing Bill to be killed. She won’t take charity from others.

I never cared for politics, and speeches I don't understand
And likewise never took no charity from any living man
But tonight there's fifty thousand gone in that unhappy land
And fifty thousand “Heart and Souls” being played with just one hand

The Vietnam War caused a lot of deaths and injuries. According to official records:
58,220 American soldiers died.
303,704 American soldiers were injured.

And my name is Penny Evans and I've just gone (turned) twenty-one
A young widow in the war that was fought in Viet Nam
And I have two infant daughters and I thank God I have no sons
Now they say the war is over, but I think it's just begun

The Vietnam War ended in 1972, but for Penny Evans, she now had to raise two little girls by herself.

This song is not only about Penny Evans but about all of the families throughout history who have lost a family member in war.

Leaving a comment is a good way to practice your writing skills.

I believe that education should be free.

All of the articles about the songs will remain free for students to use. (We are all students, are we not?) However, if you find these articles useful and are in a position to make a small (or large) donation, I would be deeply grateful.

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My name is Penny Evans

They say the war is over, but I think it's just begun

I believe that education should be free.

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