Her letters gave me purpose
Her letters gave me pride
Armies far across the ocean
Guns and letters by our side
It was someone else's homeland
It was someone else's war
But at the line of the 38th parallel
It was her I fought them for

Her victory garden grew from weeds and from stone
I smelled those flowers in my sleep
The day I left as we were standing alone
She swore to me those dreams would keep

And the bells of St. James were ringing
The bells of St. James were ringing down
Lifting the eyes of those homeward bound

I don't remember when those words changed
Like Kansas summer turns to fall
But she quit talking 'bout the future
Never mentioned dreams at all

I don't blame my enemies and I don't blame my wife
For love fires that fleeted long ago
But when she wrote me about this change in her life
There was just one thing I had to know
Are the bells of St. James still ringing
The bells of St. James still ringing down
Lifting the eyes of those homeward bound

Are the bells of St. James still ringing
The bells of St. James still ringing down
Lifting the eyes of those homeward bound
Are the bells of St. James still ringing
The bells of St. James still ringing down
Lifting the eyes of those homeward bound