Rod McKuen - Soldiers Who Want To Be Heroes

Come and take my eldest son, show him how to shoot a gun
Wipe his eyes if he starts to cry when the bullets fly.
Give him a rifle, take his hoe, show him a field where he can go
To lay his body down and die without asking why

Soldiers Who Want To Be Heroes number practically zero
But there are millions who want to be civilians
Soldiers Who Want To Be Heroes number practically zero
But there are millions who want to be civilians

Sticks and stones can break your bones; even names can hurt you
But the thing that hurts the most is when a man deserts you
Don?t you think its time to weed the leaders that no longer lead
From the people of the land who?d like to see their sons again?

Soldiers Who Want To Be Heroes number practically zero
But there are millions who want to be civilians
Soldiers Who Want To Be Heroes number practically zero
But there are millions who want to be civilians

God if men could only see the lessons taught by history
That all the singers of this song cannot right a single wrong
Let all men of good will stay in the fields they have to till
Feed the mouths they have to fill and cast away their arms