3 Meanings
Add Yours
Follow
Share
Q&A
Civilian Ways Lyrics
1,2,3,4
I hold the cold steel of my rifle as I dream of foreign lands,
and I promise myself I will cherish every moment I can,
but there's ghosts that follow me around everywhere I am.
When i say 'goodbye' I try to be strong.
now I'm going back to the U.S. where I belong.
I am never alone, the war seems to follow me home.
no longer an active soldier when i walk down the street.
now I'm shaking hands with everyone that I meet.
And I watch everyone and I'm wondering what they see.
Civilian ways are now what's foreign to me,
I came off a long time
I left this place in two oh oh three.
may we never forget the sacrifices my friends made for me.
I live in Marysville right on the county line,
and my brother and my mother both visit me all the time,
and visions of you are always running right through my mind.
We always talked about what we're gonna do when no war is won.
We're gonna fix up them old cars and ride them into the sun.
When i heard you was no longer with us, man, i was done.
Civilian ways are now what's foreign to me,
I came off a long time
I left this place in two oh oh three.
May we never forget the sacrifices my friends made for me.
May we never forget the sacrifices my friends made for me.
May we never forget the sacrifices my friends made for me.
and I promise myself I will cherish every moment I can,
but there's ghosts that follow me around everywhere I am.
now I'm going back to the U.S. where I belong.
I am never alone, the war seems to follow me home.
no longer an active soldier when i walk down the street.
now I'm shaking hands with everyone that I meet.
And I watch everyone and I'm wondering what they see.
I came off a long time
I left this place in two oh oh three.
may we never forget the sacrifices my friends made for me.
and my brother and my mother both visit me all the time,
and visions of you are always running right through my mind.
We always talked about what we're gonna do when no war is won.
We're gonna fix up them old cars and ride them into the sun.
When i heard you was no longer with us, man, i was done.
I came off a long time
I left this place in two oh oh three.
May we never forget the sacrifices my friends made for me.
May we never forget the sacrifices my friends made for me.
Add your song meanings, interpretations, facts, memories & more to the community.
“My brother Greg has always supported me. He was the first musician I ever played with when I was a teenager. Greg joined the army and I stayed. Music has always been a way for me to communicate with my family. As a songwriter it’s my vehicle. I wrote this song pretty quick, almost as if it wrote itself. The idea came after hanging out with Greg on the front porch reminiscing like we’ve done a thousand times before. This song is inspired by his year in Iraq. It’s less about the war and more about a person returning home.” — Tim Armstrong
The lyrics taken from the official booklet:
I hold the cold steel of my rifle as I dream of foreign lands And I promise myself I will cherish every moment I can But there's ghosts that follow me around everywhere I am When I say goodbye I try to be strong Now I'm going back to the US where I belong I ain't never alone, the war seems to follow me home No longer an active soldier when I walk down the street Now I'm shakin' hands with everyone that I meet And I watch everyone and wondering what they see
Civilian ways are now what's foreign to me I came off a long tour, I left this place in two o three May we never forget the sacrifices my friends made for me
I live in Marysville out on the country line And my brother and my mother both visit me all the time And visions of you are always running right through my mind We always talk about what we're gonna do when the war is won We're gonna fix up them old cars and ride them into the sun When I heard you're no longer with us man I was done
What an incredible song. This song has special meaning for myself and a few other soldiers. We first heard it on a mission in Afghanistan and we knew it would have special meaning for us every time we heard it.