WAR IS NOT A GAME


When I was just a little kid my friends and I played war
We'd shoot 'em dead, and blow 'em up
We didn't know what we were fightin' for
Whenever my Dad would see us playing,
He'd come and spoli our fun
And say "War is not a game, son.
War is not a game."

When I turned eighteen, I joined the Army,
Our country was at war.
The recruiter said I was a patriot,
It was peace I'd be fighting for.
I couldn't wait to tell my Dad--
Thought he'd be proud of what I'd done.
But he said, "War is always the same, son.
War is always the same."

Then he put his arms around me
And told me things I'd never heard before.
He told me what he'd seen and done
When he was in the war.
He said, "Son, I'll always respect you,
For doing what you thought was right.
But the only way that there'll be peace,
Is if we all refuse to fight."

Now the Army sent me off to war,
i was still eighteen years old.
They taught me how to hate, and how to kill,
And just do what I was told.
I could hear my father saying,
Every time I fired my gun,
"War is not a game, son.
War is always the same."

I got back from the war alive.
My body was intact.
I had a son, and as I watched him grow,
Those old memories came back.
He was playing war one day with his friends,
I didn't want to spoil his fun.
But I said, "War is not a game, son.
War is always the same."

I told my son right then and there
Things I'd never told him before.
I told him what I'd seen and done,
When I was in the war.
I said, "Son, you're not too young to learn
To stand up for what is right.
And we can make a better world
If we all learn not to fight."

Before I knew, my son was eighteen,
And our country was at war again.
A recruiter came knocking at our door,
And asked my son if he could come in.
He told my son he'd be a patriot,
And it was peace he'd be fighting for.
My son said, "War is always the same, sir."
And then he closed the door.

Words by Bill Durston
Arrangement by Paul Kamm and Eleanore MacDonald

MP3 at http://www.durstonforcongress.org/issues/docs/War-Is-Not-A-Game.mp3