I got drafted at 19
Me and a bunch of boys from home
January '43, drove out to Pine Bluff and signed on
Went to basic south of Birmingham
Put me on west coast bound train
Spent three days out in San Diego
And they shipped me back east again
Left a port out of New York
Slept for months in british rain
Tore it up down in London town
And they shipped me back out again

The preacher said “Boys he who is killed tonight will dine with the Lord in Paradise”
One boy spoke up, said “preacher come on, eat your supper with us

Never talk about those first days
Lots of friends left behind
But I made it all the way across France
And I fought at the Maginot line
Road a tank into Belgium
Like them better than the French
Like my daddy, thirty years before
I did my time in a trench
Lots of days there's no water
But the liquor kept me warm
The cellars were stocked to the ceiling with booze
So I carried a bottle with my gun

The preacher said “Boys he who is killed tonight will dine with the Lord in Paradise”
One boy spoke up, said “preacher come on, eat your supper with us”

Three times I made sergeant
I'm not that kind of man
And pretty much just as quick as I could
I get busted back to private again
Cause takin' orders never suited me
Giving them out was much worse
I could not stand to get my friends killed
So I took care of myself first
Now I know that don't sound right
Don't think too bad of me
Now it keeps me up nights
What I could have done differently

The preacher said “Boys he who is killed tonight will dine with the Lord in Paradise.”
One boy spoke up, said “preacher come on, eat your supper with us”

I'd be no guest at the table of the Lord
His food was not to be mine
‘Cause I cursed His name every chance that I could
And I recon that's why I'm still alive


Lyrics submitted by flesh99

The War Lyrics as written by Benjamin Nichols

Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.

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The War song meanings
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    General Comment

    So what exactly does the character telling the story mean by "I could not stand to get my friends killed So I took care of myself first?" I immediately thought suicide but a couple lines later he says "Now it keeps me up nights, what I could have done differently" which tells me either lived through his suicide attempt or that he was saying he stayed to himself so not to grow fond of those he knew may die when he sang "took care of myself first." The last lines always made me think that he blamed God for not allowing him to die when he attempted to..."I'd be no guest at the table of the Lord, His food was not to be mine ‘Cause I cursed His name every chance that I could And I recon that's why I'm still alive." Ben Nichols has never broken it down to specifics like this on any occasion I've heard him tell the background of the song. Is suicide way off the mark or does anyone else get that from the tone and lyrics?

    mrrettig78on August 13, 2016   Link

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