Newborn soldiers fresh from school Little disposable tanks of political fuel Getting all beefed up for the front lines Waving goodbyes that could last for lifetimes
There's glory in the flags they wave That cover the coffins that fill the graves Killing machines in perfect health Hand-crafted for the pursuit of wealth
You're stuck, and it's a long war
There's ghosts with guns in the streets somewhere Just waiting there There's no front or back in this battle sphere And there ain't no safe way outta here
Then the infamous explosion comes A roadside bomb and the deed is done Life flashes by in front of your eyes To know you might be the only one left alive
You're stuck, and it's a long war
Come back home and it's a sh*tty scene A nation trapped in a TV screen Searching for a reason to justify All the people who died
The Pentagon ain't got sh*t to say Cuz the grass is always greener and the contracts pay You're an expendable piece of this game they play Once the nightmares come they'll throw you away
You're stuck, and it's a long war
Reality hits it's a losing game And all the vets line up like a steady stream You see em' Waiting for the bus down at Walter Reed Filling their prescriptions trying to kill the dreams
These heroes of a myth now suffer the fate As the relics of a war that The Market made They who sacrificed everything and played the roll Getting thrown down the memory hole
They're stuck, and it's a long war
If the case is heard they might suggest a few pills A couple visits later can't pay the bills Thousands and thousands of veterans Getting swept under the rug again
And they wonder why the soldiers who come back alive Always have that look in their eyes And they're left to digest their thoughts in silence Til they come back out as domestic violence
They're stuck, and it's a long war
It's a dark hard world when your dreams are stained When you're tangled in the reigns of the profit game You get a check every month just to kill the pain Cuz your memory's running like a f*cking train
You couldn't take the heat so you took the blame That country's burning inside, now you're doing the same Following the steps of the Vietnam Vets Dying in a war of conquest
You're stuck, and it's a long war
They called it Shell shock, Combat Fatigue Now the talking heads call it's PTSD But it's not in your body's chemistry It's the product of political policy
At the bottom of it all, another wasted life Another kid they tricked into paying the price A drop in the bucket, Just a name to them They'll try to use to justify sending more troops in