I meant to ask you how to fix that car
I always meant to ask you about the war
And what you saw across the bridge too far
Did it leave a scar?

Or how you navigated rings of fire and steel
Up where Heaven had no more secrets to conceal
And still you found the ground beneath your wheels
How did it feel?

CHORUS
Bang the drum slowly
Lay the pipes lowly
In dust lead to air
In dust we begin
Bang the drum slowly
I speak of things holy
Above and below me
A world without end

I meant to ask you how in everything seemed lost
And your fate was game of dust they tossed
There was still that land that you would never cross
At any cost

I meant to ask you how you lived, what you believed
Had everything but your heart up your sleeve
And if you ever, ever really were deceived
My the likes of me

CHORUS

Gone, now, is the day that brought the Sun
There is peace tonight all over Arlington
That the song of my life will still be sung
By the light of the new year hum

I meant to ask you how to plow that field
Meant to bring you water from the well
And be the one beside you when you fell
How could you tell?

CHORUS
CHORUS