OT: A country singing soldier

[Scottie]

This sounds like a government conspiracy. A soldier in his mid 20's has written a song about his experiences in the war based on the holes that have been worn into his boots. His struggles to explain to his family the true nature of the Iraq war prompted him to begin to write these lyrics:

"Bottom of my boots sure are getting worn, there's a lot of holes in this faded uniform. Hands are black with dirt and so is my face. Ain't ever been to hell, but it can't be any worse than this place."

The song written by Luke Stricklin is titled "American by God's Amazing Grace." He played the song using a $25 guitar found on the street by an Iraqi boy and it was recorded using cheap microphones plugged into a laptop while sitting on 5 gallon water jugs. It has since gone on to be rerecorded in a major studio.

I'm sorry, but this just sounds too fishy and damn similar to the movie "Wag the Dog" to be real. Remember when Willie Nelson records the song "Old Shoe" which is then  'found' in the Library of Congress and played to typify the war that was created in the movie? Not only does the story behind this song parallel circumstances of "Wag the Dog," but the song's subject seems indentical to "Old Shoe." In attempt to tug at the heart strings of the American people and arouse sympathy for the Iraq war, I believe the American government is using this Strickland kid as a propoganda tool and mouthpiece. The title of the song is absurd and the words couldn't be any more deliberate. I'm not a conspiracy theorist, and I guess this is my first, but the similarities are too great for me to overlook.

Here's the Yahoo story:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050729/ap_on_re_us/music_soldier_s_song

Furthermore, every single article on this person has been written by Associated Press staff writer Caryn Rousseau and maybe two other sources (ABC news, and Newsweek). Not only that, but they are already talking about turning this news friendly story into a movie with seriously major stars.

Here's another story saying the same thing, this one with the info about the makings of the movie:

http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/325123p-277810c.html

[Yaddo 42]

Hey I'm as cynical as the next guy, but I'd like to think if this were a scheme they'd be a little more clever than to lift the idea from "Wag the Dog". I saw something about this guy on Fox News.

As for the AP thing, I can see them all picking up the story online and just rewriting or recycling it. AP is a wire service after all. If that's where the story first came to light, why wouldn't they quote from or use material from it.

The lyric syour quoted seem a bit cliched, but if they're heartfelt from the soldier, more power to him. I'd rather hear a song by someone who actually been in combat there, than to have to avoid another s**tty Toby Keith song.