once upon a time, there come a soldier
and man, that soldier was me
and as a young man, I grew older
I was only as good as I was trained to be
they send y’all down, they send you to war
it’s some kind of a ride when there’s death at the door
send you all down, and they go get some more
y’all better decide just what you’re fighting for
and in the middle of everything
I mean every damned thing Hell on Earth could bring
I kept lookin’ down at my wedding ring
and I knew that I had to get back
in the middle of everything
I had to find that one person, find that one thing
I kept lookin’ down at my wedding ring
and I knew that I had to get back
yeah, I knew that I had to get back
and I did my time in Afghanistan
it could have been Iraq, it could have been Iran
‘cause I was just that young American
maybe white, Hispanic, or black
and maybe I was just part of a plan
with my gun and my pack
in that endless hot sand
if I was, I didn’t understand
‘cause they just taught me to stack
send y’all down, they send you to war
it’s do or die, man, like they tell you before
send you all down, they send in some more
y’all better decide just what you’re fighting for
and in the middle of everything
I mean the fire that burns and the devil that sings
I kept lookin’ down at my wedding ring
and I knew that I had to get back
in the middle of everything
I thought about my beautiful bride in the Spring
I kept lookin’ down at my wedding ring
and I found the strength that love on Earth could bring
and baby, I found my way back
I kept lookin’ down at my wedding ring
I kept lookin’ down at my wedding ring
I kept lookin’ down at my wedding ring
and baby, I found my way back