Father’s War Josh Ritter

Came out of arrivals with something in his eyes that wasn't there
And you've been waiting for him beneath the white fluorescent glare
He throws his bags down, picks you up and he's spinning you around
Holding so tightly to you that you cannot even make a sound
This is your favorite memory of him, polished beautifully
You thought about it often both reflexively and dutifully
You didn't care who he was fighting or who he was fighting for
Only that your father finally'd come home from your father's war

And then eighteen years have passed, we're still in Afghanistan
With IEDs and armored Humvees, Burger Kings, and quicksand
And the folks that started up the fight are getting old and dying
And it's harder to remember just why the hell we're fighting
So they wrap the reasons in the flag, show films of 9/11
Every Sunday they remind us that all soldiers go to Heaven
It's a Heaven for Americans, the ones who please the Lord
Remember, even Jesus had to fight his Father's war

You meet a man you love who reminds you of your father
The way he used to be before his outlook got so dark
He sweeps you off your feet, carries you across the threshold
Of a new life, then he ships out; you are 22 years old
He calls you when he can from an undisclosed location
Then something happens and he's sent home, put on medication
He wakes up every night, an AR-15 in his chest; with your
Head upon his shoulder you can hear your father's war