[Verse 1] They told you eighteen was the age to be a man Showed you photographs of deserts turned to promised land Your mama cried but signed the line in blue I kissed you on the porch and said I'd wait for you You wrote me letters every week at first Said the sand gets in everything, the heat's the worst Then the letters slowed, and when they came The handwriting looked the same but you didn't sound the same [Chorus] War sucks the light right out of your eyes Turns boys into ghosts in a uniform disguise They sell it like glory, like you're gonna save the world But all you save is a photograph of some girl And the weight of what you had to do to make it home alive [Verse 2] They sent you back with a medal and a limp You don't talk about it much, just stare and squint At the TV, at the lawn, at nothing at all I try to hold your hand but you've built a wall Your brother asks if you're a hero now You just laugh and crack a beer and won't say how The kid who left here had a light inside The man who came back learned how to hide (chorus repeats) [Bridge] I still love you, I just don't know who you are We're sitting close but you're so far And somewhere in a government hall They're signing papers, sending more, like it means nothing at all [Outro] They told you eighteen was the age to be a man Now you're twenty-two and you don't think anyone understands I'm trying, baby, I'm trying But war takes more than the ones who end up dying
