<Leon Russell> page <Asylum Choir II (feat. Marc Benno)> album page |
Ballad For A SoldierWhen I was just a young boyI played with swords and guns And I dreamed of the day I'd become a soldier And kill all of the enemies My country 'tis of thee I sing this anthem sadly, won't you hear me I watched the cannons blazing On the giant silver screen The swastikas were burning and the hero was me The general gave the order Gladly I obeyed But the movie faded quickly all at once today And now I stand alone with the charges made Nowhere to run, not a place to hide We're sad little children playing grown-up games Guess the time has come, the damage has been done Oh stray dogs that live on the highway walk on three legs 'Cause they learn too slow to get the message Just like the Indians in the early days Battles lost and won Yet it still goes on It's just another ballad for a soldier I had no understanding till I saw my mother cry When they told her how many babies I had killed that night A dozen color photographs inside a magazine Told the morbid story like a movie screen But I was not the hero I thought myself to be Movies are much different than reality The general was convicted to get off of the hook But the President might free me for the chance I took And we all stand alone when the charge is made Sad way to live, what a way to die We're all little children playing grown-up games Can we burn the gun before the next time comes Oh, stray dogs that live on the highway walk on three legs They move to slow to get the message Give up and win, that's all I have to say We haven't really won till all the fightin' done And there are no more ballads for the soldiers |