Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe NASHVILLE, Oct. 25 (UPI) -- The song "Riding With Private Malone" has staying power. Hearing the tune just one time usually means it will swim around in your memory time and time again. Advertisement "It gave me the chills the first time I heard it," said David Ball, who has released the single on his new Dualtone Records project, "Amigo." The song, which is currently in the Top 20 on the charts, is the first to cause country radio to pay attention to Ball, 48, since his 1995 hit single, "Thinkin' Problem." The haunting lyrics of "Riding With Private Malone" tell the story of a young man who ships out to Vietnam, leaving a new Corvette at home. Years later, someone buys the car and finds a note in the glove compartment. The song says: "If you're reading this, then I didn't make it home. But for every dream that's shattered, another one comes true. This car was once a dream of mine. Now it belongs to you." Later, the song goes, the new owner was saved from a fiery crash by a stranger that he believes was Private Malone. Many songs have made their way onto the airwaves lately with a patriotic them. While this song embodies the American spirit, especially in honoring a member of the U.S. military, the single was released in August, a month before the Sept. 11 terrorism. Advertisement Ball said he thinks the song focuses more on a young man who died in Vietnam than anything else. "It's not a 'rah-rah America' type song," Ball said. "It encompasses the Vietnam era ... (but) it pushes politics aside. A lot of military people are saying 'you did us proud' by writing this song." "The Vietnam era ended on the wrong foot," Ball said, continuing. "A lot of people who went over there didn't get a fair shake. When I heard this song and what Private Malone did by leaving the note in the card and being a guardian angel for whoever got the car ... Andrew Malone was a good, American guy." Wood Newton and Thom Shepherd co-wrote the song, which is not based on a true story, Ball said. "It was an American story that's almost like a myth or a legend," Ball said. "How many guys from Vietnam had Corvettes waiting on them when they came home?" "Riding With Private Malone" may well be the centerpiece of Ball's new album, but the rest of the project has merit as well. "Amigo" boasts a collection of songs heavily tinged with honky-tonk, a sound for which Ball has become respected. Advertisement "We worked for over two years on this project," Ball said, "Really took our time and let the record evolve. "When you do it slow, you form it and make it go where you want it to go. "You let it gel," he said. "It loses its personality when you knock it out real quick."
