(Jason Ringenberg)
I was handed down this gun
From Grandpa's hands to carry on
The skies were blue the day I left
With tasks to do with hungry death
Our cause was joined by other boys
Who talked of pranks and lover's joys
We never thought we'd see the day
When our shining hearts would turn to gray
Down the dark and dusty roads
Burning fields old fathers sowed
This fear inside daily grows
From my head down to my shoes
I got the shotgun blues
From up above the orders came
To insulate and hide the blame
They changed an army true and proud
To pillagers drunk and loud
Now forever etched in memory
Are things I never dreamed I'd see
From backwoods cabins ruined and charred
To children's faces cold and hard
I was handed down this gun
From Grandpa's hands to carry on
The skies were blue the day I left
With tasks to do with hungry death
Our cause was joined by other boys
Who talked of pranks and lover's joys
We never thought we'd see the day
When our shining hearts would turn to gray
Down the dark and dusty roads
Burning fields old fathers sowed
This fear inside daily grows
From my head down to my shoes
I got the shotgun blues
From up above the orders came
To insulate and hide the blame
They changed an army true and proud
To pillagers drunk and loud
Now forever etched in memory
Are things I never dreamed I'd see
From backwoods cabins ruined and charred
To children's faces cold and hard