The old colonel was a veteran Each night he'd take his medicine And stay up watchin’ letterman Trying to forget The things he saw when he was young The carnage and the sound of guns He kept his pain from everyone With the ink inside his pen The colonel kept a journal of his troubles and regrets His battles were internal, raging wars inside his head 'Til the end, he was a soldier 'Cause the fight was never over The colonel kept a journal and he left it in a box Buried in the basement underneath some dirty socks ’Til the end, he was a soldier 'Cause the fight was never over And the day he died, his kids flew in Took some time just to remember him They cleaned up his old medicine As everybody wept They were packing up the cellar When they found his diary, read it and Couldn't believe the things he said With the ink inside his pen The colonel kept a journal of his troubles and regrets His battles were internal, raging wars inside his head 'Til the end, he was a soldier 'Cause the fight was never over The colonel kept a journal and he left it in a box Buried in the basement underneath some dirty socks 'Til the end, he was a soldier 'Cause the fight was never over The old colonel was a veteran My granddad, and a gentleman I'll always remember him Oh, I swear I won’t forget The things he saw when he was young The carnage and the sound of guns And the pain he kept from everyone With the ink inside his pen The colonel kept a journal of his troubles and regrets His battles were internal, raging wars inside his head ’Til the end, he was a soldier 'Cause the fight was never over The colonel kept a journal and he left it in a box Buried in the basement underneath some dirty socks ’Til the end, he was a soldier 'Cause the fight was never over