Half My Company Is Dead

Lyrics

[Intro] [Verse 1] I woke beneath a canvas roof With sand inside my boots The radio said dawn was near But dawn brought nothing new I wrote your names on ration tins And carried them each day One by one the desert took The men who cleared my way [Pre-Chorus] I swore I'd see that highway sign I swore I'd hear my mother's door But every mile toward home I walked I left one brother more [Chorus] I was a soldier in a desert war Fighting through the night and day I kept one photograph against my heart And prayed I'd make it home someday Now I hear their voices in the hall Bootsteps stopping by my bed I came back with my uniform But half my company is dead [Verse 2] There was Miller from Ohio Who sang to pass the heat And young Ramirez kept a deck Of cards beneath his seat We shared the last cold water We shared the fear and dust Then a flash beyond the ridge went white And left his rifle to us [Pre-Chorus] The convoy rolled at sunset No one spoke of why Three empty seats beside me And a red moon in the sky [Chorus] I was a soldier in a desert war Fighting through the night and day I kept one photograph against my heart And prayed I'd make it home someday Now I hear their voices in the hall Bootsteps stopping by my bed I came back with my uniform But half my company is dead [Bridge] Sometimes Miller stands beside the sink With dust across his face Ramirez deals his final hand Then vanishes without a trace I tell my wife I’m listening When the house begins to breathe There are names beneath my pillow There are hands I cannot see [Instrumental] [Final Chorus] I was a soldier in a desert war Fighting through the night and day I made it past the wire and guns But I never left that place Now I hear their voices in the hall Calling softly through the thread I came back with my uniform And carry every brother dead [Outro] If you see them at the gate tonight Tell them I’m still on my way I’ll lay these medals on the ground And remember every name