Album: Carry Me Back (2012)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This song is about Leevi Barnard, a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte who joined the national guard and was sent to fight in the Iraq War. Three week after arriving in Iraq, he was killed in an explosion at a Baghdad market.

    Ketch Secor of Old Crow Medicine Show heard about Leevi in a story broadcast on North Carolina Public Radio, and was moved by his story. He contacted Leevi's family, who told him that Leevi was a big fan of OCMS and was a true country boy from the Galax, Virginia area who loved to ride ATVs and hunt for ginseng. Secor wrote the story about his life and considers it a tribute to the many country boys who ended up in the war.
  • The song's chorus is borrowed from Bob Dylan's song "George Jackson," while the fiddle line is taken from the traditional "The Girl I Left Behind Me."

Comments: 2

  • Barry Hale from Columbia, ScLeevi was not only a graduate of UNC Charlotte (now Charlotte University), he earned his commission through the Army ROTC program there. He was one of of my cadets there and a great young man. Leevi was a great American
  • Barry Groomes from Davison Co TennI try and try to get the radio stations to play this honor for the veterans day and Memorial Day special plays in Md Pa and Tn. They wont do it. Shame on them for not play it for our vets.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Joe Elliott of Def Leppard

Joe Elliott of Def LeppardSongwriter Interviews

The Def Leppard frontman talks about their "lamentable" hit he never thought of as a single, and why he's juiced by his Mott The Hoople cover band.

Artis the Spoonman

Artis the SpoonmanSong Writing

Even before Soundgarden wrote a song about him, Artis was the most famous spoon player of all time. So why has he always been broke?

Elton John

Elton JohnFact or Fiction

Does he have beef with Gaga? Is he Sean Lennon's godfather? See if you can tell fact from fiction in the Elton John edition.

Loudon Wainwright III

Loudon Wainwright IIISongwriter Interviews

"Dead Skunk" became a stinker for Loudon when he felt pressure to make another hit - his latest songs deal with mortality, his son Rufus, and picking up poop.

Booker T. Jones

Booker T. JonesSongwriter Interviews

The Stax legend on how he cooked up "Green Onions," the first time he and Otis Redding saw hippies, and if he'll ever play a digital organ.

Bill Withers

Bill WithersSongwriter Interviews

Soul music legend Bill Withers on how life experience and the company you keep leads to classic songs like "Lean On Me."