Don't Call Me Soldier.

Don't Call Me Soldier.

Don't call me soldier,
Just call me a man.
I am standing here
With Peace in my hands
Don't turn your children's eyes away
They too must understand.

I look out across the deserts.
I look out across the plains
I look out across the mountains
Through the mist and through the rain
I look out across the cities,
So the cities can sleep again.

I walk across the gardens
Where the groups of mothers weep,
Past the newly planted gravestones
Where the priests their vigil keep.
I walk along the tight rope,
Death has promises to keep.

I flame in the darkness
When with other men I fight,
When fear tears out men's hearts
When blood stains coat the night.
And I weep in his empty halls
With no-one else in sight.

And I'll sail home when time comes
When the men in power say.
Fit to break the rusting ship
Or plough their fields for pay
And I'll eke out my pension
When this red hair turns to gray

Or I'll lie upon these barren hills,
Or fall slowly through the sea,
Breathless in the shifting stillness,
Lonely as a tomb can be,
Or the chain weights on my shoulders
Will put an end to me.