The Boy is Back

Guess who just got back today?
That wild-eyed boy that had been away
Haven't changed, haven't much to say.

Spread the word around
Guess who's back in town?

He flew home today
Most folks showed up to say hi
They knew about this young guy.

They spread the word around
Our boy was back in town.

He left with a dream,
United States Marine
Guess who just got back today?
That wild-eyed boy that had been away

He left, with a lot to do, not a lot to say.

The town showed up and lined the street
from the airport parking lot
to the place our boys family went to meet.

It was a parade of sorts
We were proud of this our young man
Even gave him a piece of land.

Guess who just got back today?
That squared away Marine that had been away
Things changed, haven't much to say.

The flags flew half as high
We all knew why
The clouds covered the sun in the sky.

The paper spread the word around
Our Marine was back in town.

The town showed up and lined the street

from the airport to the place the family went to meet

We were proud of this our young man

The county gave him a piece of land.

The Lance Corporal's reward for dying in Afghanistan.

In high school many of my friends were college students I worked with. The boys are back in town served as a start of summer anthem for me from the time I was 16 till I was about 22. When summer came we would crank up Thin Lizzy and jam out while drinking beer and checking out girls. There was no war on, other than the war young men wage on boredom, sobriety and celibacy.

The second of my towns war dead came home recently. He was a young man who, according to the paper, wanted to be a marine his entire life. His dad was a marine and it was his way of becoming a man. He did well with it and even made rank fairly quickly considering his young age of 19 years. He came home to a hero's welcome. Too bad he didn't get to see it.