Verse 1
My name is Lieutenant Colonel William Todd.
I flew the 101st Airborne in '42.
You may think that you've met veterans like me before,
But you don't have a clue.

Verse 2
I flew Korea in the war you probably forgot.
I gave 40 years of damn near all I got.
I watched some of my closest friends die on foreign land.
I still hear their screams at night.

Chorus
So don't you wipe away my tears.
I've earned them through all the years.
Just let 'em roll down like a stream upon a hill.
Let my tears be still.

Verse 3
I met Jean Ann in a photograph in '44.
I swore she'd be the girl to take my last name.
52 years passed til the Lord took her away,
But I still see Jean everyday.

Verse 4
At the end of my rope as I lay here in this bed.
Thoughts and prayers of my family circle through my head.
I pray when the Lord opens up the pearly gates wide
That I'll see my Jean standing there in the light