Gun Shy - Natalie Merchant

I always knew that you would

Take yourself far from home

As soon as, as far as you could go

By the quarter inch cut of your hair

And the army issue green

For the past eight weeks

I can tell where you’ve been

For, I knew, I could see, it was all cut and tied to me

There was soldier’s blue blood streaming inside your veins

There is a world outside of this room and

When you meet it promise me

You won’t meet it with your gun

So now you are one of the brave few

It’s so awful sad we need boys like you

I hope the day never comes for

«Here's your live round son

Stock and barrel, safety, trigger, here’s your gun»

For, I knew, I could see, it was all cut and tied to me

There was soldier’s blue blood streaming inside your veins

There is a world outside of this room and

When you meet it promise me

You won’t meet it with your gun taking aim

I don’t mean to argue

They’ve made a decent boy of you and

I don’t mean to spoil your homecoming

But, baby brother, you should expect me to

«Stock and barrel, safety, trigger, here’s your gun»

So now does your heart pit a pat

With a patriotic sound

When you see the stripes of old glory waving?

For, I knew, I could see, it was all cut and tied to me

There was soldier’s blue blood streaming inside your veins

There is a world outside of this room and

When you meet it promise me

You won’t meet it with your gun

I don’t mean to argue

They’ve made a decent boy of you

I don’t mean to spoil your homecoming, my baby brother Jude

And I don’t mean to hurt you by saying this again

They’re so good at making soldiers

But they’re not as good

At making men