Best of days livin' a simple life There's nowhere to go when there's only one stop light
His grandmother told him "Don't you dare sign up
They'll ship you away to places we ain't heard of
Get a degree, and maybe be a doctor Just ask your daddy, it won't matter once they got ya
Lifetimes you could spend to find out what she meant
Her final dyin' breath, this is what she said"
* "Long gone is the praise for those who fought for us
Ashes to ashes, turns out steel still rusts
Stone carved in your name, no one can really trust
Shoulder another soldier they stole from us
Don't ever bend, don't ever crawl Supposed to stand and never fall
Long gone is the praise for those who fought for us
Ashes to ashes, turns out steel still rusts"
Ashes to ashes and dust to dust And steel still rusts Ashes to ashes and dust to dust
A third of his life off in a foreign land Thanks for your service, sincerely, Uncle Sam
Lost the best of friends he'd ever known And no line of welcome signs once he got back home
He got a job, a doorman at a dive bar Became a bodyguard, protecting famous rock stars
Lost count of the times he's been around the world
Promised grandmama he'd never lose these words
( * )