[Cadence]    I don't know what I left (I don't know what I left)    But I know it won't be long (But I know it won't be long)    No it won't be long (No it won't be long)    'Till I get back home       They gave me a green uniform and black boots for my feet    Eighteen and wild as hell, I thought it would be neat    They put me on a plane to some strange and foreign land    I said good-bye to mom and dad and hello to Uncle Sam       [Chorus]    Once I was a soldier and not afraid to die    Now I'm a little older and not afraid to cry    Everyday I'm thankful just to be alive    When you've been where I've been any kind of life    Is pradise       Christmas of eighty-nine was a lonely time for me    Panama was probably fine but it was nothing like Tennessee    I never thought the day would come when I might have to kill a man    I did not sleep a wink that night but we won for Uncle Sam       [Chorus]    Once I was a soldier and not afraid to die    Now I'm a little older and not afraid to cry    Everyday I'm thankful just to be alive    When you've been where I've been any kind of life    Is pradise       If you've been where I've been any kind of life    Is paradise       It's paradise    Paradise