[Verse 1]
In the little town where I grew up
My childhood came and went
Was a dark-haired girl with a crooked smile
With whom my days were often spent

And I never gave much thanks to luck
When we'd count the stars at night
But at 14 years, the war broke out
And they shipped me off to fight

I felt a taste of honor
Until it finally hit me why
I'm too poor to dodge and to young to vote
But I ain't too young to die

That night, I wept in darkness
Alone and on my knees
Clenched my hands as hard as they could squeeze

[Verse 2]
I'd never even kissed that girl
And I'd never fired a gun
And I always thought you couldn't be a man until the age of 21

Seems the only thing I knew for sure
Is that they wouldn't take what's mine
So I set my sights on anything that stepped across the line
And the first time that I killed I man
I felt it in my chest
And many nights I saw his face
Until it blurred in with the rest

I felt no trace of honor
When it finally came with ease
Instead I knelt down in the mud and begged him please

[Chorus]
Take me home to see my mother
Take me home, away from here
Don't let me die so young and broken
And surrounded by the smell of death and fear

[Verse 3]
I lost count along the way
Of the ones I put in graves
But everyone took a little more from a heart I couldn't save

And all the things I did out there
Were the furthest thing from law
So I 'd scream myself awake most nights
Or relive the things I saw

And if I could have just one last prayer
Then the last thing that I'd see
Would be the dark-haired girl with a crooked smile
As she waved goodbye to me
But I never had much luck with prayers
I did even worse with pleas
So I'll be god damned if I die here on my knees

[Chorus]
I'm going home to see my mother
I'm going home, away from here
I ain't gonna die alone and broken
Or forsaken under skies full of despair