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Do I have to be a soldier
in the army of the Lord
We appreciate your service,
do that old song once more
As I’m no longer fit for combat
I’ve been honorably discharged
But I still sleep with my war clothes on
Battlegrounds are better now
if you’re sent to serve at sea
but it’s too late for the vets
and too little for the infantry
Well, they’ll never declare a holiday
when you’re asked to shed a tear
and send your priceless thoughts and prayers
once a year
But in the sports bars in the evenings
before it gets too loud
you can pay your respects at happy hour
when we warm up the crowd
When my hero heard my fight song
he pinned a medal to my chest
if I’d only recognized him,
that fight would’ve been the best
but the scarecrow filled with fire
that was left beneath his hat
did not betray that his wife and daughter passed
That this man was not a star
is still a national disgrace
but if it bothered him,
he should have told his steadfast face
When he fell before he poured his final bottle
in the cup
I hear Gabriel and Michael showed up
all the brutes they never broke him
but he had played his final part
he chose a soldier’s way to go,
death by broken heart
The wild warlords led us,
Colonel Zevon, General Waits
but they were busy in the war room
when we stormed the bloody gates
every army has a wrecking crew
but they’re hard to find today
because most of us are MIA
Battlegrounds are better now
if you make the union scene
but it’s too late for the vets
and too little for the infantry
Do I have to be a soldier
in the army of the Lord
where’s the justice of his terrible swift sword