I was proud to be the soldier 
I had been since '83 
When I joined to pay for college 
Like my brothers before me 
I was proud to serve my country 
And to be a fine Marine 
But pride can not protect me 
From the things that I have seen 

When they shipped us out of Norfolk 
My family came to wave 
My Mama stood there 
Choking back the tears and looking brave 
And though we never spoke of it 
We all feared it just the same 
Now they tell me I should talk about 
The things that I have seen 

I was trained to take the good shot 
I was trained to clean my gun 
They trained me not to talk back 
And they trained me not to run 
I was trained to be as silent 
As the shadow of a hawk 
But no one trained me for the silence 
Of the things that I have seen 

Once I saw an accident 
Out on Old Rt. 17 
Mama told me not to look at it 
As we slowly passed the scene 
Thought the image of that wreckage 
Was burned into my brain 
That did not prepare me 
For the things that I have seen 

I thought I was a good man 
I thought I was elite 
I thought I'd fight the good fight 
And that I'd never see defeat 
Then we won that bloody war 
And how we laughed at their retreat 
Now I wage a losing battle 
Against the things that I have seen 

Be glad that modern science 
Has given us so much 
We can rifle through the channels 
Without ever standing up 
But I can't find a station 
That hasn't had enough 
Of this morbid fascination 
With the things that I have seen 
And me, I can't stop dreaming 
About the things that I have seen