If you live in a rural place like the Blue Ridge Mountains, you might not see homeless veterans on the street like people do in big cities. There are, however, plenty of veterans with wounds that are less visible, and they live in every zip code.
Junior Sisk has released a new single, The Dreams I Dream, written in that vein by Mark “Brink” Brinkman and David Stewart. This song isn’t about momma, a murder, a cabin, or a train, but about the invisible scars many of our combat veterans carry, and how quick folks are to judge them. And the judgment is all the more cruel because most of us non-vets have no understanding of the horrific trauma of war that they experienced and continue to battle.
The message of the song is to offer empathy rather than judgment. Know that there is a backstory behind every life, and that is a truth that goes well beyond veterans of war. The second message is to be thankful you aren’t the one tormented by these dreams and a life of pain.
In this second single from his soon-to-be-released Turnberry Records album, True To The Bone, Junior sings of a man living on the streets, drinking beer and, through a tattered cardboard sign, asking for help. Passersby do what many of us do: ignore him or act like Job’s three “comforters” who come with a heavy dose of uninformed opinions and judgment. “He’s a whack job,” “He’s a lazy bum,” “He’s a drunk,” or offer the easy answer that all he needs is to turn to Jesus.
All of those things may be true, but the message here is to slow down, stop judging, and learn what has brought this man to this condition. What are the dreams he carries that force him to live such a desperate, tormented life? What demons is he fighting? What caused him to have self-hatred and call himself a “shell” of a man?
This song was engineered by Wes Easter and features Junior’s longtime bandmates Johnathan Dillon (mandolin), Curt Love (bass), Heather Berry Mabe (harmony vocal/guitar), and Tony Mabe (harmony vocal). While they have gone out on their own, with Junior’s blessing, to roaring success as Red Camel Collective, they still play on most of the cuts on this album. Junior asked bluegrass all-stars Michael Cleveland (fiddle) and Randy Kohrs (dobro) to sit in because “the song just begged for the haunting sounds they bring.”
Junior shared with me that in true Stanley Brothers tradition, he never had a dobro on any recording of his in his 40-year-career. But, come to find out, even his hero Dr. Ralph added dobro on some of his later recordings!
“This song is a little different for me,” says Junior. “I was drawn to it because of the exceptional, and probably all too real, story that it tells. It gave me the chicken skin — you know, the cold chills — and brought tears to my eyes when I heard it. The sacrifices so many vets have made and are making often go unrecognized, and I wanted to recognize the service in some small way.”
Beginning today, July 17, Junior will be playing with his new band of young guns who he says are hyped up and raring to go — they remind him of himself when he first got in the business. They will be his band for the remainder of 2026 and into 2027 as he kicks off his Junior Sisk & Friends Farewell Tour.
The young ‘uns play on two songs on the album. Junior says that he hopes they will continue on as Ramblers Choice after he retires from the road. The odds are heavy that Junior will retire from the road in 2027, but not from recording and the occasional appearance.
That’s the prayer, anyway . . .
