ARLO GUTHRIE - WHEN A SOLDIER MAKES IT HOME lyrics

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words and music by Arlo Guthrie

Halfway around the world tonight

In a strange and foreign land

A soldier packs his memories

As he leaves Afghanistan

And back home they don't know too much

There's just no way to tell

I guess you had to be there

For to know that war was hell

Chorus:

And there won't be any victory parades

For those that's coming back

They'll fly them in at midnight

And unload the body sacks

And the living will be walking down

A long and lonely road

Because nobody seems to care these days

When a soldier makes it home

They'll say it wasn't easy

Just another job well done

As the government in Kabul falls

To the sounds of rebel guns

And the faces of the comrades

Being blown out of the sky

Leaves you bitter with the feeling

That they didn't have to die

Chorus

Halfway around the world tonight

In a strange and foreign land

A soldier unpacks memories

That he saved from Vietnam

Back home they didn't know too much

There was just no way to tell

I guess you had to be there

For to know that war was hell

And there wasn't any big parades

For those that made it back

They flew them in at midnight

And unloaded all the sacks

And the living were left walking down

A long and lonely road

Because nobody seemed to care back then

When a soldier made it home

The night is coming quickly

And the stars are on their way

As I stare into the evening

Looking for the words to say

That I saw the lonely soldier

Just a boy that's far from home

And I saw that I was just like him

While upon this earth I roam

And there may not be any big parades

If I ever make it back

As I come home under cover

Through a world that can't keep track

Of the heroes who have fallen

Let alone the ones who won't

Which is why nobody seems to care

When a soldier makes it home