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He came home to |
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Tennessee |
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Young man at the end of forty five |
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Only one of seven men in his platoon |
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That made it back alive |
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And he must've seen some tough things |
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But he never said too much about all that |
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Put his pictures and his memories in our cedar chest |
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Everything but his old army hat |
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By the time that |
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I was born |
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The winds of change had swept across our land |
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They were burning flags and draft cards |
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When they bothered to take some kind of stand |
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Now we used to laugh at grandpa |
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Like he was some old relic from the past ' |
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Cause he never left the house unless he was wearing |
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That funny looking worn out army hat |
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Every eye was on him |
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Anytime when he went anywhere |
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They whispered and they pointed |
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But you could tell my grandpa didn't care "I ain't wearing this for them", he'd say "It's a whole lot more than that For my buddies who gave everything The least that I can do is keep on wearing this old army hat" |
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He called me up one morning |
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Said he'd seen it on the news on his |
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TV "They've opened up a monument to World War II In Washington DC" "I ain't getting any younger And I wish someone would take me to see that" |
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And I couldn't help but think they're gonna laugh at you up there |
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If you show up in that silly army hat |
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Two strangers, both salute |
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As grandpa walked up to the monument |
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One said, "Thank you soldier, for the job well done" |
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The other said, "Amen" |
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And a young boy told him "Sir, my daddy went to war and didn't make it back Could you take a picture standing here beside me And maybe let me wear your army hat" |
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Every eye was on him |
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There was not a dry one in the crowd |
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They whispered and they pointed |
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As my grandpa stood up extra tall and proud |
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And he told him, "Son, just keep it" |
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When the young boy tried his best to give it back "You're a brave little soldier and every soldier needs His very own authentic army hat" "For your daddy who gave everything the least that I can do Is pass on this old worn out army hat" |