[Verse 1] Seventeen with a name on a line Boots too big but the fire was mine Mama cried on a gravel road Daddy said “son, carry that load” Cut my hair, traded dreams for war Letters home through a distant shore Held your picture against my chest Swore I’d come back, swore I’d do my best [Verse 2] Desert nights under burning skies Lost some friends but I lost my eyes To the man I was before I left Came back home to an empty breath Four kids standing in the hall No goodbye note on the wall Just silence where your voice had been War came home, it lived within [Chorus] I gave my youth to the red, white, blue But the war came back in everything I knew Built a life just to watch it break apart Still standing with a shattered heart Yeah I held the line when the ground gave way Lost it all but I chose to stay Through the fire, through the scars I kept reaching for who we are [Verse 3] Found your smile in a roadside place Second chance in a stranger’s face Two more boys and a steady home For a while I wasn’t alone Then one night turned the sky to flame Sirens screaming out your name Ash fell down like a winter storm Left me broken, left me torn [Bridge] Raised those boys to be strong like steel Taught them love, taught them how to heal But the nights got long and the truth got loud Lonely in every crowded crowd Different faces, the same goodbye Empty arms and another try Every love just slipped away Like the fire took you that day [Chorus] I gave my youth to the red, white, blue But the war came back in everything I knew Built a life just to watch it break apart Still standing with a shattered heart Yeah I held the line when the ground gave way Lost it all but I chose to stay Through the fire, through the scars I kept reaching for who we are [Outro] Hospital room, quiet and still Fighting a war I could never kill No one there when I said goodbye Just ghosts and a fading light No parade, no final song Just a man who kept holding on From a boy to a soldier to falling apart I died alone… But I lived with heart
