The Weight of the Uniform

Barely shaved and boots too clean

Just a shadow in a sea of olive green

They broke the boy to find the man inside

With a heavy pack and nowhere left to hide

We found a rhythm in the mud and the rain

A strange kind of brotherhood

Born out of pain

It's the weight of the uniform

The price of the pride

The things we keep open

And the ghosts we keep inside

We stood for the many, we bled for the few

And came home as strangers

To the people we knew

Yeah, the flag still flies, but the wind feels cold

Carrying stories that can never be told

The sky turned black and the world went loud

Lost the best of us beneath a desert cloud

I had to be the anchor when the ship was torn

Trading my youth for a crown of thorn

You see things that leave a stain on the soul

Trying to stay human while you play the role

The clock ran out and the papers were signed

Left the brothers and the battlefield behind

Now the silence is the loudest thing I've heard

Looking for a mission, looking for a word

Who am I now without a rank or a name?

The man in the mirror doesn't look the same

Still marching... just a different beat

New ground beneath these weary feet

Finding a purpose, one day at a time

Finding the rhythm. Finding the rhyme