Just 18, growing up on the wrong side of the law   Somewhere, someday knew he’d have to rise above it all   Told his family he’s gonna go fight for his land   Little brother can hold down the farm, and Mama please understand   Mama begged him not to go   Mama lost her little boy, but a country gained a hero      The desert air hit him square in the face, and boy you were right   Somewhere in between the fight he finally new what it meant to be alive   He was just 3 years shy of 21, and they gave that boy a gun   Mama begged him not to go   Mama lost her little boy, but a country gained a hero      Yeah, well, some say a hero is born to be brave   But I’m here to tell you that a hero is a scared man that don’t walk away      Mama sits by the flag of the USA   Tears well up in her eyes as she bows her head to pray   And she says, “Son, I know you had to go”   But mama lost her little boy, but a country gained a hero      Yeah, gained a hero   Well, it gained a hero   We gained a hero   Yeah, gained a hero   Gained a hero   For the USA   Oh, for the USA