[Verse 1]
Touched down as a boy in Vietnam
Didn't take too long to become a man when
I tried to the heal the hurt and scared
I wasn't wearin' one, but that was my cross to bear

[Verse 2]
Always more wounded on their way
Out in the jungle, just another day for me
Never knew how many I could save
But I would try to keep 'em from the grave

[Chorus]
Soldiers become fathers
When they get to come back home
Then their sons and their, their daughters
Can grow up and havе their own
Oh, you won't see me in their family tree
Thеre ain't a branch for me reserved
But I was mending roots in combat boots
To help 'em rise up from the earth
While I was workin' in the dirt

[Verse 3]
I knew I couldn't save 'em all
I couldn't help but feel that it was all my fault
But there's a forest growin' higher
And it's all because some seeds survive the fire
Oh yeah
[Chorus]
Soldiers become fathers
When they get to come back home
Then their sons and their, their daughters
Can grow up and have their own
Oh, you won't see me in their family tree
There ain't a branch for me reserved
But I was mending roots in combat boots
To help 'em rise up from the earth
While I was workin' in the dirt

[Chorus]
Soldiers become fathers
When they get to come back home
And then their sons and their, their daughters
Can grow up and have their own
Oh, you won't see me in their family tree
There ain't a branch for me reserved
But I was mending roots in combat boots
To help 'em rise up from the earth
While I was workin' in the dirt

[Outro]
While I was workin' in the dirt