Verse 1
My name is Lieutenant Colonel William Todd
I flew the 101st Airborne in '42
You may think that you've met veterans like me before
But you don't have a clue

Verse 2
I flew Korea in the war you probably forgot
I gave 40 years of damn near all I got
I watched some of my closest friends die on foreign land
I still hear their screams at night

Chorus
So don't you wipe away my tears
I've earned them through all the years
Just let 'em roll down like a stream upon a hill
Let my tears be still

Verse 3
I met Jean Ann in a photograph in '44
I swore she'd be the girl to take my last name
52 years passed til the Lord took her away
But I still see Jean everyday

Verse 4
At the end of my rope as I lay here in this bed
Thoughts and prayers of my family circle through my head
I pray when the Lord opens up the pearly gates wide
That I'll see my Jean standing there in the light