Natalie Merchant: Gun Shy

Gun Shy
I always knew that you would take yourself so far from home as soon as,
and as far as you could go. By the 1/4 inch cut of your hair by the Army issue
green, for the past eight weeks I can tell where you've been. For I knew, I
could see, it was all cut and dried to me there was soldier's blue blood
streaming inside your veins. There is a world outside of this room and when you
meet it promise me that you won't meet it with your gun.
So now you are one, one of the brave few, and it's awful sad we need boys
like you. I hope the day never comes for "Here's your live round son. Stock and
barrel, safety, trigger, here's your gun." Well I knew, I could see, it was all
cut and dried to me there was soldiers blue blood streaming inside your veins.
There is a world outside of this room and when you meet it promise me that you
won't meet it with your gun taking aim. For I don't mean to argue, that they've
made a decent boy of you and I don't mean to spoil your home coming, but baby
brother you should expect me to.
"Stock and barrel, safety, trigger, here's your gun." So now does your
heart pitter pat with a patriotic song when you see the stripes of Old Glory
waving? For I knew, I could see, it was all cut and dried to me there was
soldier's blue blood streaming inside your veins. There is a world outside of
this room and when you meet it promise me that you won't meet it with your gun
taking aim. I don't mean to argue, they've made a decent boy of you and I don't
mean to spoil your homecoming my baby brother Jude and I don't mean to hurt you
by saying this again, they're so good at making soldiers but they're not as
good at making men.