We Know War - John McCutcheon

We know war

A hundred years it haunts our homes

We know war

The generations left alone

The wombs forever wanting

The burdens we all bore

The empty chair at supper

The pastor at the door

We know war

Death falling from the sky like rain

We know war

The siren’s wail again

The black outs and the blitzkrieg

As we huddled on the floor

Children trembling in the shelter

Midst the unrelenting roar

We know war

Yes, we know war

The rows of crosses in the field

The endless longing

That cannot be concealed

The history

That shows what lays in store

We know war

By the blood in every speech

We know war

In the poison that they preach

The young ones seeing horrors

That they’ve never known before

The scars that never heal

In hearts where hatred keeps the score

We know war

The armies rolling through the street

We know war

As the ones who taste defeat

The endless occupation

The searches door-to-door

The fear that stalks the night

Until you can’t take anymore

We know war

When the battle’s over

And the victors count the cost

Cold calculation

Of what is won and what is lost

The survivors' song

Will be forevermore

We know war

And every one’s so much the same

We know war

No longer will we add our name

To the killing and the dying

We have known too much before

When we pray for patience

And you ask of us, «What for?»

Because we know war