Key: A
Introduction: Am G
Am C G
I was proud to be the soldier I had been since '83
Am F E
When I joined to pay for college, like my brothers before me
Am C G
I was proud to serve my country and to be a fine Marine
Am F E Am G Am G
But pride cannot protect me from the things that I have seen
Am C G
When they shipped us out of Norfolk, my family came to wave
Am F E
My Mama stood there choking back the tears and looking brave
Am C G
And though we never spoke of it, we all feared it just the same
Am F E Am G
Now they tell me I should talk about the things that I have seen
F G Am
I was trained to take the good shot, I was trained to clean my gun
F Em F
They trained me not to talk back and they trained me not to run
Am C G
And I was trained to be as silent as the shadow of a hawk
Am F E Am G Am G
No one trained me for the silence of the things that I have seen
Am C G
And once I saw an accident on Old Route 17
Am F E
Mama told me not to look at it, as we slowly passed the scene
Am C G
Though the image of that wreckage was burned into my brain
Am F E Am G
That did not prepare me for the things that I have seen
F G Am
I thought I was a good man, I thought I was elite
F Em F
I thought I'd fight the good fight, that I'd never see defeat
Am C G
And that we'd won that bloody war, how we laughed at their retreat
Am F E Am G
Now I wage a losing battle against the things that I have seen
Am C G
Just be glad modern science has given us so much
Am F E
We can rifle through the channels without ever standing up
Am C G
But I can't find a station that's finally had enough
Am F E Am G
Of this morbid fascination with the things that I have seen
Am F E F G
And me, I can't stop dreaming of these things that I have seen