He said "Son, have you seen the world?
Well, what would you say if I said that you could?
Just carry this gun and you'll even get paid."
I said "That sounds pretty good."

Black leather boots
Spit-shined so bright
They cut off my hair but it looked alright
We marched and we sang
We all became friends
As we learned how to fight

hero of war
Yeah that's what I'll be
And when [bad word] home
They'll be [bad word] proud of me
I'll carry this flag
To the grave if I must
Because it's a flag that I love
And a flag that I [bad word] 

I kicked in the door
I yelled [bad word] 
The children, they cried
But I got my man
We took him away
bag over his face
From his family and his friends

They took off his clothes
They [bad word] in his hands
I told them to stop
But then I joined in
We beat him with guns
And batons not just once
But again and again

hero of war
Yeah that's what I'll be
And when [bad word] home
They'll be [bad word] proud of me
I'll carry this flag
To the grave if I must
Because it's a flag that I love
And a flag that I [bad word] 

She walked through bullets and haze
I asked her to stop
I begged her to stay
But she pressed on
So I lifted my gun
And I fired away

The shells jumped through the smoke
And into the sand
That the blood now had soaked
She collapsed with a flag in her hand
flag white as snow

hero of war
Is that what they see
Just medals and scars
So [bad word] proud of me
And I brought home that flag
Now it gathers dust
But it's a flag that I love
It's the only flag I [bad word] 

He said, "Son, have you seen the world? 
Well what would you say, if I said that you could?"