A smokestack sky, petroleum king
I work the third shift, the time bell rings,
This town is tired, the nights burn slow
I joined the army, just had to go

Wrapped in the flag, tied to the cause
Accept it all without a pause
Tailor up my desert fatigues
Polish that rifle for the big leagues

She shook her head, she said don’t go
There’s so much truth that you don’t know
She turned away, she grabbed a sign
And she marched off to the protest line

And someone clapped me on the back
They said go a-marchin’, go a-marchin’ Jack
We won’t forget you, don’t let us down
You are the toast of Rivertown

The months they pass, the sergeant snarls
Let’s go settle this holy quarrel
Come all you greenhorn bungling beaus
God bless your souls, let’s rock n’ roll

Our humvee eats the desert miles
Chews the sands, drives to trial
A bomb blast hit us on the broadside
We rolled and tumbed into the tide

Smoke and metal, fire and blood
Blew me clear from the screaming flood
Between my ears I heard the knell
Felt myself pass into hell

And someone clapped me on the back

The nurse she turns me on the bed
A visitor comes, I raise my head,
Here is the truth for which you begged,
My God she cried, they took your legs

Instrumental break (chorus)

There’s no fanfare, no more parades
 
They’ve all deserted the masquerade
No more drum and bugle corps
Just protestors crying no more war

And someone clapped me on the back

I can’t be whole, won’t walk again
But my brothers and my friends
Without my legs, I’m more a man
Than the lying men who run this land

A smokestack sky, petroleum king
I worked third shift, the time bell rings,
To work, to war, we drive this show
Our lives they stop, the oil still flows

And someone clapped me on the back...

And someone clapped me on the back
They said go a-marchin’, go a-marchin’ Jack
We won’t forget you, don’t let us down
You are the ghost of Rivertown