I was born on a railroad track
With the weight of the world strapped to my back
Born to be a soldier boy, born to be a soldier boy

Looking for a life in a graveyard town
If you never get lost, you never get found
Born to be a soldier boy, born to be a soldier boy
Born to be a soldier boy, born to be a soldier boy

I fell in love with an impossible girl
She was my breath in this strangled world
Born to be a soldier boy, born to be soldier boy

She broke my heart with my best friend's name
Now my mind still works, but it's not the same
Born to be a soldier boy, born to be a soldier boy
Born to be a soldier boy, born to be a soldier boy

We go bang, ba-bang, ba-bang, ba-bang, ticky, ticky
Bang, ba-bang, ba-bang, ba-bang, lo, lo, lo, lo
Bang, ba-bang, ba-bang, ba-bang, ticky, ticky
Bang, ba-bang, ba-bang, ba-bang, lo, lo, lo, lo

So many people wanna watch things grow
Either they're blind or they just don't know
Born to be a soldier boy, born to be a soldier boy

My daddy was done before he turned nineteen
My momma was run like a fast machine
Born to be a soldier boy, born to be a soldier boy

So I cross my heart and I hope to die
Like an aeroplane, baby, coming out of the sky
Born to be a soldier boy, born to be a soldier boy
Born to be a soldier boy, born to be a soldier boy

We go bang, ba-bang, ba-bang, ba-bang, ticky, ticky
Bang, ba-bang, ba-bang, ba-bang, lo, lo, lo, lo
Bang, ba-bang, ba-bang, ba-bang, ticky, ticky
Bang, ba-bang, ba-bang, ba-bang, lo, lo, lo, lo

Bang, ba-bang, ba-bang, ba-bang, ticky, ticky
Bang, ba-bang, ba-bang, ba-bang, lo, lo, lo, lo
Bang, ba-bang, ba-bang, ba-bang, ticky, ticky
Bang, ba-bang, ba-bang, ba-bang, lo, lo, lo, lo