it's not hard to reach back to the day 
underneath that iowa sun [bad word] to the tower of waterloo 
looking for the Sullivan's train [bad word] 
and his five boys [bad word] to the top 
and salute him as he went by 
first we'd wave hello 
then we'd wave goodbye 
goodbye 

it's not hard to reach back to the days 
after the attack on pearl 
overnight my buddies turned into men [bad word] out of time for games and girls 
and the Sullivan boys were not overlooked 
Uncle Sam'd call them each by name
the very next day they left on a mystery train 

say goodbye, Mrs. Sullivan 
and don't you cry 
"-We regret to inform you 
the Navy has taken your sons away-" 
all five... so put your blue star in the window 

it's not hard to reach back to her smile 
when she'd recieve a letter 
and the letters they sounded generally the same 
they said they couldn't be home 
at least they were together 
on a mighty fighting battleship 
somewhere in the South Pacific 
the letters never got much more specific 

say goodbye, Mrs. Sullivan 
and don't you cry 
"-We regret to inform you 
the Navy is keeping your sons away-" 
all five... so keep your blue star in the window 

it's not hard to reach back to the day 
when the war finally came home 
Uncle Sam'll send you a telegram 
so he doesn't have to tell you over the phone 
i heard she cracked up 
when they found out what the war had cost 
when all five of her boys were lost... 

say goodbye, Mrs. Sullivan 
go ahead and cry 
"-We regret to inform you 
that all your sons have passed away-" 
all five... so change your blue star to gold 

blue star to gold