When I was just a young boy, I played with swords and guns, and I dreamed of the day I'd become a soldier.
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And kill all of the enemy, my country 'tis of thee.
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I sing this anthem sadly, wont you hear me.
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I watched the cannons blazing, on the giant silver screen.
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The swastikas were burning and the hero was me.
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The general gave the order, gladly I obeyed.
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But the movie faded quickly all at once today.
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And now I stand alone with the charges made, no where to run, not a place to hide.
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We're sad little children playing grown-up games.
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Guess the time has come, the damage has been done.
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Stray dogs that live on the highway, walk on three legs.
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Cause they learn to slow to get the message.
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Just like the Indians in the early days.
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Battles lost and won, yet it still goes on.
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It's just another ballad for soldier.
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I had no understanding 'till I saw my mother cry, when they told how many babies I had killed that night.
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A dozen color photographs inside of a magazine, told the morbid story like a movie screen.
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But I was not the hero I thought myself to be, movies are much different than reality.
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The general was convicted to get off of the hook, but the President might free me for the chance I took.
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And we all stand alone when the charge is made, sad way to live, what a way to die.
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We're all little children playing grown-up games, can we burn the gun before the next time comes.
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Stray dogs that live on the highway walk on three legs, they move to slow to get the message.
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Give up and win, that's all I have to say, we haven't really won till all the fightin' done, and there are no more ballads for the soldiers.
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Ballad For A Soldier
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Leon Russell |