Picked up the paper this morning   Could not believe what I saw   A friend of mine was killed   Runnin' from the law      I could still see the face of my old friend   In the picture that stared back at me   And through the tears I went back through the years to remember   The times that we were      Playin' pirates in the school yard, singin'   Soldiers in the fields   We were dreamin'   Brothers in blood 'til the very end      We were best of friends   Best of friends   Always hang together, forever   Thought we'd always be that way   But in time you grow up   And you slip away      It was thirteen years since I'd seen him   This man that I no longer knew   His mother, god bless her   Asked me if I'd say a word or two   Lookin' out in a room full of strangers   I didn't know quite what to say   All I could tell was of two old friends   And some long gone summer days of      Playin' pirates in the school yard, singin'   Soldiers in the fields   We were dreamin'   Brothers in blood 'til the very end      Friends like him don't come very often   You never treasure them while there's time   And if they slip away   You gotta somehow say   You're still on my mind      So your memory's all I have left now   These words are all I can give   And from time to time I turn back in my mind   To the place where you'll always live      Playin' pirates in the school-yard, singin'   Soldiers in the fields   We were dreamin'   Brothers in blood 'til the very end