John McCutcheon We Know War
We know war
A hundred years it haunts our homes
We know war
The generations left alone
The wombs forever wanting
The burdens we all bore
The empty chair at supper
The pastor at the door
We know war
Death falling from the sky like rain
We know war
The siren's wail again
The black outs and the blitzkrieg
As we huddled on the floor
Children trembling in the shelter
Midst the unrelenting roar
We know war
Yes, we know war
The rows of crosses in the field
The endless longing
That cannot be concealed
The history
That shows what lays in store
We know war
By the blood in every speech
We know war
In the poison that they preach
The young ones seeing horrors
That they've never known before
The scars that never heal
In hearts where hatred keeps the score
We know war
The armies rolling through the street
We know war
As the ones who taste defeat
The endless occupation
The searches door-to-door
The fear that stalks the night
Until you can't take anymore
We know war
When the battle's over
And the victors count the cost
Cold calculation
Of what is won and what is lost
The survivors' song
Will be forevermore
We know war
And every one's so much the same
We know war
No longer will we add our name
To the killing and the dying
We have known too much before
When we pray for patience
And you ask of us, "What for?"
Because we know war
