If Jimmy Didn't Have to Go

Got married in a hurry, and we had us a son back in 1973 I was drafted at the end of the Vietnam War, though I never did go overseas But I remember the look on the ones who came back Their faces still haunt me so And I made myself a promise I would do what it takes So Jimmy didn't have to go 'Cause if Jimmy didn't have to go There's nothing I wouldn't do That boy means the world to me And he ought to mean the world to you I don't know why we throw lives away And come home with nothing to show I only know I would sell me soul If Jimmy didn't have to go I went from the Army to the Army reserves There's nothing that moves I can't fix I didn't think much about it, just a weekend warrior Then I turned 36 And they called me in and they shipped me out I'm thinking now, I could have said no But I whispered to Cathy we would finish it early So Jimmy didn't have to go 'Cause if Jimmy didn't have to go There's nothing I wouldn't do That boy means the world to me He ought to mean the world to you I don't know why we throw lives away Coming home with nothing to show I only know I would sell me soul If Jimmy didn't have to go They said it wouldn't come to hand, to hand Though the border's just a mile away Well, the enemy surprised us from behind They were running back the other way Guess they were looking for a place to hide Guess they were looking a place they'd know Wondering what they hell they were doing there And why they ever had to go But if Jimmy didn't have to go There's nothing I wouldn't do That boy means the world to me And he ought to mean the world to you I don't know why we throw lives away And come home with nothing to show I only know I would sell me soul If Jimmy didn't have to go I killed a soldier with a silent knife I pulled him down on top of me I looked into the eyes looking back into mine He couldn't have been 17 I held him as he died so quiet I held him as he died so slow I held him 'til I knew it wasn't enough That Jimmy didn't have to go They sent me up for court-martial 'Cause I wouldn't do a thing I was told Their lawyer said I was a coward Mine said I was just too old But it wasn't the fear of the bombs above Or the fear of the gas below I'm afraid to meet the eyes of the Iraqi father Whose Jimmy had to go 'Cause if his Jimmy didn't have to go God, there's nothing I wouldn't do That boy means the world to me now And he ought to mean the world to you I don't know why we throw lives away Come home with nothing to show I only know there's a time to say no And Jimmy didn't have to go