People staring at me as they wheel me down the ramp toward my plane
The war is over for me, I've forgotten everything except the pain
Thank you sir, and yes sir, it was worth it for the ol' red, white and blue
And since I won't be walking I suppose I'll save some money buying shoes

The bottle hidden underneath the blanket over my two battered legs.
I can see the stewardess make over me and ask "Were you afraid?"
I'll say, "Why no, I'm Superman
And I couldn't find the phone booth quite in time."
A GI gets a lot of laughs if he remembers all the funny lines

Mama bake a pie. Daddy kill a chicken.
Your son is coming home, eleven thirty-five, Wednesday night

Mama will be crying and Daddy's gonna say "Son, did they treat you good?"
My uncle will be drunk
And he'll say, "Boy, they doing some real great things with wood."
The letter that she wrote me said good-by, she couldn't wait and lot of luck
The bottle underneath the blanket feels just like an old friend to my touch

I know she'll come and see me but I bet she nerve once looks at my legs.
Naw, she'll talk about the weather 
And the dress she wore the July fourth parade.
Lord, I love her and I don't believe this bottle's get her off my mind
I see here in the paper where they say the war is just a waste of time

Mama bake a pie. Daddy kill a chicken.
Your son is coming home, eleven thirty-five, Wednesday night