Names on a Wall

Lyrics

[Intro] I still count the seats when the bus pulls away One for each name they took from the gate [Verse 1] Miller kept a photo folded under his plate Said his little girl would be taller by May Ramirez laughed when the Humvee shook Had a paperback Bible with the corners worn crooked Jackson wrote home, "Tell Mom I’m fine" Then crossed out the sentence and started the line We learned how to sleep with our boots on tight And call every distant flash a normal night [Pre-Chorus] Now the years move on, but mine won’t leave They stand in the doorway every time I breathe [Chorus] I lost my brothers, I lost my sisters Names on a wall and dirt on their pictures I came back breathing, but I never came home Their voices follow wherever I go I shut my eyes, they’re calling through the smoke I wake up reaching for the ones who never woke I’m still in Iraq when the room goes black And every ghost I carry keeps pulling me back [Verse 2] There was a medic named Lee with a steady hand She could quiet a panic with a look and a command Torres sang low when the convoy rolled Off-key, tired, brave, twenty-two years old Some came back missing more than bone Some wore a medal and disappeared alone At the airport, people clapped, then turned away Like the war was a chapter we could close in a day [Pre-Chorus] But the kitchen floor turns to sand at night And a slammed door sounds like incoming fire [Chorus] I lost my brothers, I lost my sisters Names on a wall and dirt on their pictures I came back breathing, but I never came home Their voices follow wherever I go I shut my eyes, they’re calling through the smoke I wake up reaching for the ones who never woke I’m still in Iraq when the room goes black And every ghost I carry keeps pulling me back [Bridge] If I say your names, will the room stay still? Miller, Ramirez, Jackson, Lee, Torres on the hill I keep your letters in a coffee tin Read them when the old war starts again I’m sorry I survived the seat beside you I’m sorry there was nothing I could do [Breakdown] Don’t tell me time is medicine It only teaches pain to hide its face Don’t tell me they’re in a better place I want them laughing in the barracks again [Final Chorus] I lost my brothers, I lost my sisters Names on a wall and dirt on their pictures I came back breathing, but I never came home Their voices follow wherever I go I shut my eyes, they’re calling through the smoke I wake up reaching for the ones who never woke I’m still in Iraq when the room goes black And every ghost I carry keeps pulling me back [Outro] So I leave one light on by the front door For every soul I couldn’t bring back from that war I say goodnight to the empty room And hear your boots in the hallway soon