Sometimes gunfire's brighter than the sunshine

Sometimes a child's scream influences every dream

Sometimes we fool ourselves into thinkin' we've moved on

But no way, no how, do we ever forget what we've seen



No way, no how, do we ever forget what we've seen

No way, no how, do we ever forget what we've seen

No way, no how, do we ever forget what we've seen

No way, no how, do we ever forget what we've seen



It's now twenty-five years later, he's on the brink of fourty-three

Still searchin' for sanity, surveyin' the floor of his distorted sea

He remembers high-school friends jokin' about the war

Never knew what Mom was cryin' for



The other piece that shines in his mind

Is the divine first-love soul-mate beauty brown-eyed queen he left behind

He remembers holdin' her tight, watchin' the sunset at shore

Never knew what she was cryin' for



He got the letter in his mail by the middle of his summer

Wouldn't have had to go if it wasn't for his new born brother

He was barely eighteen, murdering people even younger

And he still ducks and covers every time he hears the thunder



He still hears the screams, smells the flesh, tastes the death

Sees the blood, feels the pain What's to gain?

Nothing's left but the slug that remains in his right path

The bullet laughs every time he cries, and it drives him mad



Trying to sleep, but the visions give him a cold sweat

The war's been over for two decades, but he still hasn't been home yet

Everyday he wakes and strains to repress his guilt

And forget the horror, the violence, the kill-or-be-killed



Fists are always clenched, teeth are always grindin'

Real life is lost, and in a bottle he tries to find it

"It's not fair", he mumbles through a nightmare

Only in the fight for two years, and wound up spendin' his whole life there



He was face to face with the devil for the "welfare" of his country

Now he's strainin' to live, but his conscience won't let him

It ain't flashbacks, you have to understand the tragedy, see

He left the war, but the war never left him, see

He left the war, but the war never left him, see

He left the war, but the war never left him, see

He left the war, but the war never left him, see

He left the war



It's now twenty-five years later, he's on the edge of a park bench

He's asked God for help, but found his source non-existent

He sits in the shadows, 'cause his sun burns no more

Now he knows what Mom was cryin' for



I used to watch old man in the park, the sight slowly drove right

through my heart

Wishin' I could help, but not knowin' where to start

I'd walk away, curse the world, gush some love, and curse some more

Now you know who I've been cryin' for



He threw his medals in the river, but they sunk alone

Put shades on his eyes, to hide him from the war zone in the sky

He tried to slit his wrists about a month ago

But he's seen so much death, he's scared to life of suicide



If there was some way to break him out of this penitentiary

Gulps get bigger and figures it'll chase away his memories

But the dreams only worsen, the scenes almost burst in

He recalls how training took away his right to be a person



Put a gun in his hand, left him to die with the land

The plan was the murder of man

Politicians have a dispute, decide to send in troops

But the truth is, they just don't understand



Now he's runnin' out of time, and runnin' out of energy

But till the last day, he'll be fighting for the murder of his memories

And although he never got rid of his dog-tags

He still wishes they'd have sent his parents and american flag (instead of him)



He was face to face with the devil for the "welfare" of his country

Now he's strainin' to live, but his conscience won't let him

It ain't flashbacks, you have to understand the tragedy, see

He left the war, but the war never left him, see

He left the war, but the war never left him, see

He left the war, but the war never left him, see

He left the war, but the war never left him, see

He left the war



Sometimes gunfire's brighter than the sunshine

Sometimes a child's scream influences every dream

Sometimes we fool ourselves into thinkin' we've moved on

But no way, no how, do we ever forget what we've seen



No way, no how, do we ever forget what we've seen

No way, no how, do we ever forget what we've seen

No way, no how, do we ever forget what we've seen

No way, no how, do we ever forget what we've seen