There's a purple heart on the stars and stripes tonight
It's pinned to the chest of the latest liar
And if you try to speak your mind
They tell you keep it to yourselfYou got friends in the armed forces
They wanna know which side you're on
Doesn't matter 'cause we'll all be offTo train, to fight
Disregard our human rights
To play the part
The conscience of the damnedYou say you're defending me
I'm sick of tying yellow ribbons
Praying not to seeAnother folded flag to a mourning lover
He was an army of one but they'll find another
And in the fold of the body bag
You'll find a cheque for a hundred grandYou got friends in the armed forces
Now we know what a soldier costs
It's the cost of the rest of usTo take a life, we all have our price
The wife and kids sleep soundly in their beds
You say you're defending me
I'm untying yellow ribbons
On every single tree I seeThey'll float like butterflies back home
And I can feel the desert's heat
When you're standing next to me
Friendship offers no reliefStay with me now, just hear me out
Don't wanna lose you to that great black cloud
Coming down, you see in the path a bullet makes
When it calls you by your name
And the medic can't play the rhythm of your heartSo it starts to fade like footsteps in the march
The parade passes by our fingertips
As lives once were rightTo change our minds
Everything that's wrong looks right
The lives we lead
Are somewhere in betweenYou say you're defending me
I'm sick of tying yellow ribbons
Praying not to see, we're not going to hell
To run rings around a wishing well