Wrong Side of the River

We were kids when they drew that line We were kids when they drew that line I remember the day they handed me their gun Said "You're eighteen now, son, time to do what must be done" And I looked across the river where your city used to shine Now it's just a row of sandbags and a checkpoint in the rain I didn't choose this uniform, I didn't choose the war But the border's made of pencil marks I never saw before And I'm standing on the wrong side of the river tonight With a photograph I keep inside my coat, out of sight If love could cross a bridge they'd burn, I'd walk through the flame But the only thing that passes here is the sound of my own name Your letters come in envelopes, all censored and delayed Every word is like a window that the winter's tried to shade You write about the garden and the fence we never mended I write about the silence that a soldier's night has ended I wonder if you're sleeping when the searchlights cut the dark If you ever feel me standing like a question in the park And I'm standing on the wrong side of the river tonight With a photograph I keep inside my coat, out of sight If love could cross a bridge they'd burn, I'd walk through the flame But the only thing that passes here is the sound of my own name They tell me that a border's just a line upon a page But a line can tear a family, a line can build a cage And I didn't ask to hold this gun, I didn't ask to leave But I'm learning how to live a life that's half of what I need And half of what I need is you So I'll wait here in the rain until the war is done And I'll find you on the other side when the morning comes We'll tear the map in pieces, throw the papers in the fire We'll build a house where no one fences love and desire No one draws a line We were kids when they drew that line We were kids when they drew that line