I always knew that you would take yourself far from home
As soon as, as far as you could go
By the 1/4 inch cut of your hair and the Army issue green
For the past eight weeks I can tell where you've been
For I knew, I could see, it was all cut and dried to me
There was soldier's blue blood streaming inside your veins
There is a world outside of this room and when you meet it promise me
You won't meet it with your gun

So now you are one of the brave few, it's awful sad we need boys like you
I hope the day never comes for
"Here's your live round son. Stock and barrel, safety, trigger, here's your gun."
Well I knew, I could see, it was all cut and dried to me
There was soldiers blue blood streaming inside your veins
There is a world outside of this room and when you meet it promise me
You won't meet it with your gun taking aim
For I don't mean to argue, they've made a decent boy of you
And I don't mean to spoil your home coming
But baby brother you should expect me to

"Stock and barrel, safety, trigger, here's your gun."

So now does your heart pitter pat with a patriotic song
When you see the stripes of Old Glory waving?
Well I knew, I could see, it was all cut and dried to me
There was soldier's blue blood streaming inside your veins
There is a world outside of this room and when you meet it promise me
You won't meet it with your gun taking aim
I don't mean to argue, they've made a decent boy of you
And I don't mean to spoil your homecoming my baby brother Jude
And I don't mean to hurt you by saying this again
They're so good at making soldiers but they're not so good at making men