He came home to Tennessee, young man at the end of forty five
Only one of seven men in his platoon that made it back a- live
And he must've seen some tough things, but he never said too much 'bout all that
Put his pictures and his memories in our cedar chest, everything but his old army hat
By the time that I was born, the winds of change had swept a- cross our land
They were burning flags and draft cards when they bothered to take some kind of stand
Now we used to laugh at grandpa like he was some old relic from the past
'Cause he never left the house unless he was wearing that funny looking worn out army hat
Chorus
Every eye was on him, anytime when he went anywhere
They whispered and they pointed, but you could tell my grandpa didn't care
"I ain't wearing this for them", he'd say, "It's a whole lot more than that
For my buddies who gave everything
The least that I can do is keep on wearing this old army hat"
He called me up one morning, said he'd seen it on the news on his TV
"They've opened up a monument to World War II in Washington
"I ain't getting any younger and I wish someone would take me to see that"
And I couldn't help but think they're gonna laugh at you up there
If you show up in that silly army hat
Two strangers, both sa- lute as grandpa walked up to the monu- ment
One said, "Thank you soldier, for the job well done," the other said, "A- -men"
And a young boy told him, " Sir, my daddy went to war and didn't make it back
Could you take a picture standing here beside me and maybe let me wear your army hat"
Chorus
Every eye was on him, there was not a dry one in the crowd
They whispered and they pointed as my grandpa stood up extra tall and proud
And he told him, "Son, just keep it" when the young boy tried his best to give it back
"You're a brave little soldier and every soldier needs his very own au- thentic army hat"
"For your daddy who gave everything the least that I can do
Is pass on this old worn out army hat" x 7