(from “Cut and Run”)


It’s all agreed, let’s have a war
It’s been so dull, let’s make some speeches
Let’s get the voters off our backs
They’d rather watch us storm some beaches
And so we lose some of the boys
At least we let ‘em die like men
Take out a villain, make some noise
And they’ll elect us all again

We’ve got a leader with a plan
The suffering one, he swears he’ll aid him
If he can’t feed his fellow man
He’ll blow him to the God that made him
Get all the homeboys seein’ red
A chance to even up the score
Come home a hero, come home dead
They’ll be no poorer than before

There’s lots of boys will go to fight
For what we say has been denied them
Just keep it simple, keep it light
There’s plenty more to die beside them
How fie and fair they’ll run to die
To earn their share of the spoils of war
While rich and poor,the mothers cry
Forever poorer than before

And who is beaten and undone
And who earns fame and who earns glory
The last one left to hold a gun
There’s no one there to check his story
The winner’s free to shout and brag
And gather up the spoils of war
And drape his brother with a flag
And come home poorer than before

So on we run and on we roll
We’ll make the foe drop down and kneel
We’ll learn no lessons from the past
We’ll go and reinvent the wheel
And so we lose some of the boys
At least we let ‘em die like men
Take out a villain, make some noise
And they’ll elect us all again