The War Ain’t Over

[Intro – Spoken, acoustic guitar and quiet steel] They told us, “Never forget.” Hell, some of us couldn’t if we tried. [Verse 1] I watched those towers fall on TV Didn’t take long to know what that would mean Packed my shit and kissed my family goodbye Then spent damn near twenty years watching friends die I came home, but I didn’t come home right Couldn’t sleep, couldn’t stand a quiet night Everybody else just carried on We were back, so they figured the war was gone [Chorus] But the war ain’t over when you bring it home When you wake up sweating and you’re all alone When a car backfires and you hit the floor You know damn well you’re not there anymore They can say it’s finished, say we won or lost But they don’t have to live with what it cost We came home, that’s what everybody sees But some of us are still fighting overseas [Verse 2] I’ve sat for hours down at the VA Waiting on somebody to call my name Another doctor, another bottle of pills Another, “How you doing?” Shit, you want the truth? Once a year they thank us at the football game Stand up, wave, everybody claps our way Then Monday morning everybody goes to work And we’re right back trying not to fucking hurt [Chorus] The war ain’t over when you bring it home When you wake up sweating and you’re all alone When a car backfires and you hit the floor You know damn well you’re not there anymore They can say it’s finished, say we won or lost But they don’t have to live with what it cost We came home, that’s what everybody sees But some of us are still fighting overseas [Instrumental – Pedal steel solo, fiddle answers] [Verse 3] They counted every man we lost over there Every name, every date, every place, every year Then we came home and somehow that count stopped Like dying over here don’t fucking count I’ve carried friends I knew since they were kids I’ve called their wives and told them what we did I’ve stood beside their families with nothing to say Then went home and drank until I couldn’t see straight I still hear voices I ain’t heard in years Sometimes they’re so damn close I swear they’re here Then the room gets quiet and I know they’re gone And I’m still here. I don’t know why. [Bridge – Band drops to acoustic guitar and steel] How many wives have to get that call? How many kids gotta lose their dad? How many buddies do we have to bury Before somebody gives a shit about that? Don’t hand me a ribbon. Don’t give me another goddamn speech. Sit down. Ask me how I’m doing. And stay long enough to hear the fucking answer. [Final Chorus – Full band] The war ain’t over when you bring it home When you’re sitting in the dark at three in the morning alone When you’re staring at a picture of a twenty-year-old kid Trying to remember the last damn thing he said You can tell me it’s finished, tell me it’s through Hell, maybe that’s easy for you But I know men who came home years ago Who still ain’t made it home. No… Some of us still ain’t made it home. [Outro – Spoken, guitar and steel fading] So don’t tell me “Never forget.” I remember. Every fucking day.