Twenty-One Guns

Jamie's going off to war tomorrow
Trading in his shovel for a big old gun
Time to stand up time to be a man
Putting the trigger in his right hand
But she needs you now she can't do it herself
Forced to put her dreams and her future on the shelf
Think of your wife your child on the way
She don't wanna be a widow at his young age

We hear the sounds of bombs dropping
It's ringing in our ears and we can feel it when you're falling down

Twenty-one guns fired in the middle of the night
Twenty-one guns were blazing in the thick of the fight
Twenty-one guns one shot for every year of his life
Reaching for the courage to pull you through
But your back's up against the sharp edge of the knife

We're hanging ribbons of gold on the trees in the yard
And your thoughts are with us no matter how far you are
We're always here with you
And it kills us inside knowing there's nothing we can do
Bad news strikes the girls left alone
Left to raise her child and fend for her own
Another family that's torn by war
Another soldier's face down in the dirt