The Long Road Back

[Verse 1]
Boots on the porch, dust on the floor,
A flag on the wall, a life from before.
The screen door creaks, but it don’t slam,
I stand in the silence, the shell of a man.
[Chorus]
I can't turn back time, can't undo the fight,
The battlefield's gone, but it lives in my mind.
Lost in this town, I can't find my track,
I came home from the war, but I can't come back.
[Verse 2]
Folks shake my hand, call me a hero,
But their words feel heavy, empty and hollow.
The streets I knew, they don’t feel the same,
Like I’m a stranger wearin’ my own name.
[Prechorus]
I see their smiles, I hear their cheers,
But they don’t see the man who's fightin’ tears.
[Chorus]
I can't turn back time, can't undo the fight,
The battlefield's gone, but it lives in my mind.
Lost in this town, I can't find my track,
I came home from the war, but I can't come back.
[Bridge]
The nights are the worst, the quiet’s too loud,
Memories march like a ghostly crowd.
I close my eyes, but the pictures stay,
The things I saw won’t fade away.

allowing the emotion to shine through., acoustic, melodic, male vocals; gentle acoustic guitar picking with soft pedal steel accents; a raw, country, stripped-down arrangement that builds to a restrained crescendo