℗ Copyright 2025 by Midknightoil Music ☢ -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 🧶 - Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3RHtX1sMkxhBIXBxdqftsK 📻 - YouTube Music: https://music.youtube.com/channel/UCuW6er98D210fb6pIcp9jpA 🍎 - Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/midknightoil-music/1771715875 ✖ - X Artist: https://x.com/Midknightoil_M 📽 - TikTok Artist: https://www.tiktok.com/@midknightoil 🎧 - Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/artists/B0DJCJXCL2/midknightoil-music 💜 - Deezer: https://www.deezer.com/us/artist/284428631 🌐 - Website: https://www.thrownexception.com Author Notes: Memorial Day tribute for those we lost and those we are grateful they made it back. For those who have had either the fortune or misfortune of serving in combat, there are no winners in war. And when the dust settles what is left are people who feel a hollowness that can never be filled. Regardless of our feelings about war, they are souls that need love more than most. Say thank you to a Veteran. [intro] Dust still clings where blood once dried, Time moves slow just grateful to survive. Dark images pass behind closed eyes, Covering my ears never quiets the cries. [verse 1] I bore the weight without complaint, Signed my name in blood red ink. Didn’t flinch when orders came, But silence taught me how to think. The .50 cal still haunts my sleep, Like thunder caught in looping tape. Shells that kissed the floor at dawn, Now rattle in my dreams, never gone. [chorus] Under the surface, I carry the sound— Hammering rhythm never quiets down. A scream in the smoke, a hand in sand, Still hold tight but don’t understand. I walk through the world, a man returned, Ribbons on my chest really never felt earned. [verse 2] The desert night, the furnace breeze, The murmured breath, it's dark release— The look that passed between two eyes When both knew one would not survive. I see them still, not ghosts, but flame, Names now hollow but more than names. I stitched their memory to my chest, A flag that folds, but never rests. [chorus] Under the surface, it’s quiet and loud— I nod at people, but I’m lost in the crowd. I still feel the push, the fear I’ve masked, Still hear the questions I never asked. And though peace wears a kinder face, It never quite fills the hollowed space. [bridge] No one returns the way they left— You leave as one, returning bereft. They see a man, they see a smile, But I still walk that desert mile. [chorus – final] Under the surface, a fire remains— Quiet as ash, encumbered by chains. I gave what I could, left some behind, The battle’s done, but not in my mind. And if I finally break, it won’t be loud… Just a silent whisper beneath the crowd. [outro] So let me lie when sleep wears thin, With scars so deep beneath my skin. Await my maker, pray i committed no sin, But darkness made it's home, deep within. [fade to end]
