What a Soldier Gives

Take a man and put him alone,
Put him twelve thousand miles from home,
Empty his heart of all but blood,
Make him live and sweat in the mud.

This is the life that I must live,
And why my soul to the devil I give,
You peace boys pent from your easy chairs,
For you don't know what it's like over here.

You have your fun without near trying,
While over here the boys are dying,
You use your drugs and have your fun,
And then refuse to use a gun.

Burn your draft cards and march at dawn,
Plant Viet Cong flags on the White House lawn,
There's nothing else for you to do,
And I'm supposed to die for you.

I'll hate you til the day I die,
You made me hear my buddy cry,
I saw his arm a bloody shred,
I heard them say: "This one's dead."

It's a large price he had to pay,
Not to live another day,
He had the guts to fight and die,
He paid the price but what did he buy?

He bought your life by losing his,
But who gives a damn what a soldier gives?
His wife does and so do his sons,
But they're just about the only ones.