One of the 22

I'm 18 and on a bus to Fort Benning,

I'm finally an adult, a new beginning.

One year later, I'm ducking for cover,

Returning home with my flag-covered brother.

At 25 now, I'm a wise old man,

I've got a little rank with a ring on my hand.

I've got a kid on the way, but I'm off again,

Back to the sandbox without my best friend.

They taught me how to be a soldier and a man,

But coming home broken wasn't in their plan.

Out here, I don't know what to do,

I'm trying not to be one, one of the 22.

I'm 33, and I'm on my own,

My ex-wife and kid in our home.

I'm living paycheck to paycheck,

I can feel that noose getting tighter around my neck.

Now, I'm 42, the bottle and the pills,

They help get me through.

I've got a second ex, and the bills are coming due,

The only thing heavier than the whiskey,

Is my 45, I keep them both with me.

They taught me how to be a soldier and a man,

But coming home broken wasn't in their plan.

Out here, I don't know what to do,

I'm trying not to be one, one of the 22.

I'm 47, and I can't take it anymore,

No one understands the locks on the door.

I'm ashamed of these thoughts in my head,

I'm pretty sure I'm better off dead.

(Hit drum like a gun going off)

They taught me how to be a soldier and a man,

But coming home broken wasn't in their plan.

Out here, I didn't know what to do,

I'm another statistic, I'm one of the 22.

I'm just another statistic, I'm one.