[Verse 1] They wrote his name in crooked chalk On the board by the courthouse door Seventeen in his last cold spring He thought he’d walk away from war Mama’s hands went slack and shaking Little brother bit his sleeve “Should’ve been the year you’re freed Boy Not the year they make you leave” [Chorus] Raise your flag My only son To the Bowl where the children fall In the name of peace They send you For the honor of us all Trade your laughs for laurel branches Trade your heart for the province crown You’re the last year in the bowl now And the last one walking out [Verse 2] They lined them up by ages Eight-year eyes too big for dawn Eighteen years of stolen childhoods Buried under cheering songs He met a girl from across the river Braids tied back with yellow string “Promise me ” she whispered shaking “If you live Remember me” [Chorus] Raise your flag My only son To the Bowl where the children fall In the name of peace They send you For the honor of us all Trade your laughs for laurel branches Trade your heart for the province crown You’re the last year in the bowl now And the last one walking out [Verse 3] First horn blew and dust rose choking Wooden walls and iron gates Every step felt like betrayal Every swing rewrote his fate Saw the boy with the broken sandal Could’ve been his brother’s size Turned away But the crowd cried “Glory” Cold as winter in their eyes [Bridge] Every cut carved out a promise Every fall stole one more name (one more name) He kept seeing home in flashes Supper smoke and window rain By the time the yellow ribbon Hit the dirt Torn from her hair Only he and echoing silence Only he still breathing there [Chorus] Raise your flag My only son To the Bowl where the children fall In the name of peace They sent you For the honor of us all Now the crown feels carved from gravestones Every cheer just sounds like doubt You’re the last year in the bowl Boy And the last one walking out [Outro] He came home in a stranger’s jacket Stitched with names he could not save All that honor on his shoulders All that love he couldn’t trade At the gate they called it glory In his chest it felt like shame Peace was paid in children’s footsteps And they only kept his name
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