Taken to the crossfire
He asked my if I knew
How to break a stalemate
Made of iron
He might have even cried
But I looked away instead of looking
Is it odd that now
I’m used to the gunfire?

And the mothers clutch to their sons
Saying I’m afraid you are a man
Fathers dance with their daughters
Thinking they’ll never release her hands
Do the children ever understand?

Taken to the graveyard
He asked me if I’d ever die
I didn’t know what to answer
So I answered with a lie
He kissed a headstone’s head
Introduced me to his love
Is it a lady buried there
Or does love never die?

And sons break from their mothers
Declaring, I am now a man
Daughters dance with lovers
Leaving their fathers clutching hands
Do the children ever understand?

Perhaps the days
Make us wise
But I think we just pretend
Children we all are
We’ll always be
With hearts that break more than they bend

And sons bury their mothers
Wondering when she aged
Daughters kiss bald-headed fathers
Knowing there’s too much to say
The children understand
In one too many ways