Lyrics

Verse 1]
He kissed her hand in the morning light,
Held his girls, said “It’ll be all right”
Too young to know just what it means,
When duty calls behind the scenes.

Two little voices echo still,
“Will you be home on the windowsill?”
But orders came, and so he flew,
To stand beneath a skyless blue.

[Chorus]
For the flag he served, he walked alone,
While back at home, they'd sleep and grow
They danced in dresses, laughed in spring,
He dreamt of every little thing
The cost was silent, cold and grave,
A father’s love he couldn't save
They waved the flags, they praised the brave—
But never saw the shadows of the flag they gave.

[Verse 2]
His oldest drew him with crayon hands,
Mailed from home in colored strands
“Dear Daddy, please come back real soon,”
He read her words beneath the moon.

His wife stayed strong through every year,
She hid the weight, she masked the fear
But deep inside, he knew too well,
The stories that her silence tells.

[Chorus]
For the flag he wore, he missed their days,
The birthdays lost in windswept haze
First steps, first songs, he never heard,
Just whispers in a video blurred
The world saw honor, proud and brave,
But never what the silence gave
They raised their flags, they praised the brave—
But turned away from shadows that the flag still gave.

[Bridge]
He came back home, but things had changed,
The rooms were warm, the faces strange
His girls had grown, their hands now strong,
He’d been away too damn long.

[Final Chorus]
Still for the flag, he’d go again,
To keep the peace for other men
But deep inside, he’ll always know,
The love he missed, the time let go
So let them wave it in the sun,
But count the hearts behind the gun
They see the hero, bold and brave—
But never know…
the shadows of the flag they wave.