** Denotes spoken part

People staring at me as they wheel me down the ramp toward my plane
The war is over for me, I've forgotten everything except the pain
Thank you sir, and yes sir, it was worth it for the ol' red, white and blue
And since I won't be walking I suppose I'll save some money buying shoes

The bottle hidden underneath the blanket over my two battered legs
I can see the stewardess make over me and ask "Were you afraid?"
I'll say, "Why no I'm Superman, and couldn't find the phone booth quite in time"
A GI gets a lot of laughs if he remembers all the funny lines

(Chorus)

Mama bake a pie, Daddy kill a chicken
Your son is coming home, 11:35 Wednesday night

*Mama will be crying and Daddy's gonna say "Son, did they treat you good?"
My uncle will be drunk and he'll say, "Boy, they doing some real great things with wood"*
The letter that she wrote me said good-bye, she couldn't wait and lots of luck
The bottle underneath the blanket feels just like an old friend to my touch

I know she'll come and see me but I bet she never once looks at my legs
Naw, she'll talk about the weather and the dress she wore the July 4th parade
Lord, I love her and I don't believe this bottle's gonna get her off my mind
I see here in the paper, where they say the war is just a waste of time

(Chorus)