the news it came to me as a surprise and i knew that i would have to deal in time and as the messanger walked right off the porch a memory came to me from times before i remember when my dad was called away my mother put his pictures all away and now the time had come for me to go to my love my tears i tried not to show chorus with tear drops on my face thinking bout that old homeplace riding across the planes in the rain the letters from my dad described the war his food was canned his boots they made him sore and one letter from my dad spoke of a friend who got lost between the water and the land now i m the one writing letters to my son i ll be home as soon as the fightin s done with my gun in hand i guess it s hard to see what it was that used to be inside of me today we moved in sight of the enemy though i didn t even know what they had done the general yelled to me when i count to three get on your feet and start to run that s the last event i can recall the tent was big but could not hold us all though i ll never know what got the best of me i swear i felt my dad looking over me 