Unproud Warrior

September the 2nd, 2017 That's your discharge date, etched in your soul It's been nearly two years now, gone by so fast Like the fast food restaurants they built while you were away Pull into the drive-thru, speak into a box Discard the paper wrappers when you're through These people can't comprehend the choices you made So you don't tell them a thing (tell a damn thing) Whoa, whoa Unproud warrior (unproud warrior) Unproud warrior (unproud warrior) Unproud warrior (unproud) You made your house your own Some blame their actions on the government It's all orders for these lily-white comrades They hang up their guns on a nail of rosewater And participate in their grandson's parade But you know you had more choices than they let on A soldier is not a cog, but a man, like any other These thoughts you revisit every time you turn on a movie (you revisit every time) And see a depiction that is far from your experience (every time, every time) Whoa, whoa Unproud warrior Unproud warrior (every time) Unproud warrior (unproud warrior) You made your choice alone You were only seventeen when you enlisted You remember S.E Hinton wrote The Outsiders when she was just fifteen Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein when she was just nineteen And at twenty-three, Stephen Crane published The Red Badge Of Courage Which is still known as one of the most realistic depictions of war Even though Crane was born after the Civil War ended Maybe sentiments of regret are not all that unrelatable You've always taken lengths to be aware of your own choice Whoa, whoa Unproud warrior (unproud warrior) Unproud warrior (unproud warrior) Unproud warrior (unproud warrior) You built your house alone (whoa, unproud warrior) Whoa, whoa Unproud warrior (unproud warrior) Unproud warrior (unproud warrior) Unproud warrior You made your house your own (you made your house your own) Alone Alone