I always knew that you would take yourself far from home   As soon as, as far as, you could go   By the quarter inch cut of your hair and the Army issue pay   For the past eight weeks I can tell where you've been      For I knew, I could see, it was all cut and dried to me   There was soldier's blue blood streaming inside your veins   There is a world outside of this room   And when you meet it promise me   You won't meet it with your gun      So now you are one of the brave few   It's awfully sad we need boys like you   I hope the day never comes   For here's your live round son   Stock and barrel, safety trigger, here's your gun      Well I knew, I could see, it was all cut and dried to me   There was soldiers blue blood streaming inside your veins   There is a world outside of this room   And when you meet it promise me   You won't meet it with your gun taking aim      For I don't mean to argue   They've made a decent boy of you   And I don't mean to spoil your homecoming   But baby brother you should expect me to      "Stock and barrel, safety trigger, here's your gun"   So now does your heart pitter pat, with a patriotic song   When you see the stripes of old glory waving?      Well I knew, I could see, it was all cut and dried to me   There was soldier's blue blood streaming inside your veins   There is a world outside of this room   And when you meet it promise me   You won't meet it with your gun taking aim      Well, I don't mean to argue, they've made a decent boy of you   And I don't mean to spoil your homecoming, my baby brother Jude   Oh, I don't mean to hurt you by saying this again   They're so good at making soldiers but they're not as good at making men