Ryan Harvey Lyrics
"It's A Long War"

Newborn soldiers fresh from school
Little disposable tanks of political fuel
Getting all beefed up for the front lines
Waving goodbyes that could last for lifetimes

There's glory in the flags they wave
That cover the coffins that fill the graves
Killing machines in perfect health
Hand-crafted for the pursuit of wealth

You're stuck, and it's a long war

There's ghosts with guns in the streets somewhere
Just waiting there
There's no front or back in this battle sphere
And there ain't no safe way outta here

Then the infamous explosion comes
A roadside bomb and the deed is done
Life flashes by in front of your eyes
To know you might be the only one left alive

You're stuck, and it's a long war

Come back home and it's a sh*tty scene
A nation trapped in a TV screen
Searching for a reason to justify
All the people who died

The Pentagon ain't got sh*t to say
Cuz the grass is always greener and the contracts pay
You're an expendable piece of this game they play
Once the nightmares come they'll throw you away

You're stuck, and it's a long war

Reality hits it's a losing game
And all the vets line up like a steady stream
You see em' Waiting for the bus down at Walter Reed
Filling their prescriptions trying to kill the dreams

These heroes of a myth now suffer the fate
As the relics of a war that The Market made
They who sacrificed everything and played the roll
Getting thrown down the memory hole

They're stuck, and it's a long war

If the case is heard they might suggest a few pills
A couple visits later can't pay the bills
Thousands and thousands of veterans
Getting swept under the rug again

And they wonder why the soldiers who come back alive
Always have that look in their eyes
And they're left to digest their thoughts in silence
Til they come back out as domestic violence

They're stuck, and it's a long war

It's a dark hard world when your dreams are stained
When you're tangled in the reigns of the profit game
You get a check every month just to kill the pain
Cuz your memory's running like a f*cking train

You couldn't take the heat so you took the blame
That country's burning inside, now you're doing the same
Following the steps of the Vietnam Vets
Dying in a war of conquest

You're stuck, and it's a long war

They called it Shell shock, Combat Fatigue
Now the talking heads call it's PTSD
But it's not in your body's chemistry
It's the product of political policy

At the bottom of it all, another wasted life
Another kid they tricked into paying the price
A drop in the bucket, Just a name to them
They'll try to use to justify sending more troops in

We're stuck, and it's a long war