The War Has Been Coming Home

The camera pans in on the chaos Twisted steel and shattered concrete A bomber has broken the heart of the city How many are trapped underneath? And the voice that is just off camera cries My God, there are children inside In the city of Baghdad, a building is burning Nobody knows where to hide 800 women and children and men in that shelter at Amaria With no way to hide from the smart bomb With nowhere to run from the fire With no one to live to tell the tale Of the terror that glazed their eyes As they melt into one in that furnace And their spirit streaks over the blazing skies And the story that drums in my marrow Insists that it's all of one piece How can you say yes to the war in the Gulf And say no to the war in your streets? It cannot be stopped at the border Or trapped in a shelter of stone Or arrested by following orders War has been coming home There's a battle outside and it's raging It's our children that haunt our dreams The heart of our city is breaking And where are the rescue teams? We can talk about family values We can talk of the golden rule The governor's talking, three strikes and you're out As he opens a prison and closes a school And the picture that flashes like lightning Reveals that we all are one How can I say yes to the man with the noose And say no to the child with the gun? It cannot be stopped by a border Or locked in a prison of stone While we were just following orders The war has been coming home The spirits that burn in the skies of Iraq Insist there's a price we must pay A soldier returns from the Baghdad Road The soldier is Tim McVeigh The camera pans in on the chaos Twisted steel and shattered concrete A bomb breaks the heart, Oklahoma City How many are trapped underneath? And the voice echoes over the rubble My God, there are children inside The whole nation's searches for sense in it all Everyone knows there is no place to hide And the story repeats its weary refrain To remind us we're all apart How can we say yes to war in the world And no to war in our heart? It will not be stopped at the border Or hidden in bunkers of stone Or forgiven for following orders War has been coming home