Pearl's Eye View (the Life Of Dickey Chapelle) Lyrics - Nanci Griffith

Oh, she was high up there in the air 

Caught still by a soldier's stare 

Whenever it was men amongst men 

Down upon the land 

And she followed those Mothers' sons 

She felt the thunder of their guns 

From a pearl's eye view 

Just a camera in her hand 

She was born Georgette but the name 

Didn't suit her well 

So, she blew out of Wisconsin as Dickey Chapelle 

Oh, she flew with a pilot's pride 

The first witness to either side 

She carried relief to the lost ones 

Between the bombs 

And we saw it all through her lens 

Well, she knew she'll go back again 

When the call rang out 

Once more from Vietnam 

She's been through this before 

She'll tell you war is hell 

Her pearl earrings caught the light 

On Dickey Chapelle 

Oh, that's the way it was 

She was the only one to tell 

In 1962, she blew the 

Whistle loud and clear 

And now, we trace her wings 

In her footsteps without fear 

To the front lines where she fell 

Where she lies still but she's still there 

Oh, it was 1965 over 

Chu Lai in a free fall dive 

In a dawn patrol to cover 

The dead zone ground 

She tiptoed through the land mines 

All along the enemy lines 

But she never saw the one 

That took her down 

Now, she captured 

The bloody pearls of war so well 

That war was bound to steal the end 

Of Dickey Chapelle 

(From a pearl's eye view) 

Dickey Chapelle 

(From a pearl's eye view) 

Dickey Chapelle 

(From a pearl's eye view) 

Dickey Chapelle