Lyrics
[Verse 1]
Eighteen years old with a duffel bag and a dream
Mama cried at the county line
Daddy said son you'll come back a man
I was scared but I kept my spine
The drill sergeant hollered till I couldn't think straight
Thirty push-ups on the gravel ground
Learned to make my bunk in sixty seconds flat
Found a brother in every sound
[Pre-Chorus]
And the nights got long
But the flag still waved
And the letters home
Were all the strength I saved
[Chorus]
For the ones who stand the watch
For the ones who never bend
Salute the ones who carry on
When the road don't have an end
We're marching to the sound
We're standing in the line
Every soldier every sailor
Every heart that serves the time
[Post-Chorus]
Yeah we serve the time
Yeah we serve the time
[Verse 2]
Deployed to a land I can't pronounce
Hot sand and a borrowed gun
Saw my buddy take a photo of his little girl
Said daddy's coming home when this is done
We traded all our Fridays for a radio crackle
And coffee black till the sun came up
Learned that courage ain't the absence of the fear
It's the trembling hand that fills the cup
[Pre-Chorus]
And the nights got cold
But the bond held tight
And their faces burned
Like a torch at night
[Chorus]
For the ones who stand the watch
For the ones who never bend
Salute the ones who carry on
When the road don't have an end
We're marching to the sound
We're standing in the line
Every soldier every sailor
Every heart that serves the time
[Post-Chorus]
Yeah we serve the time
Yeah we serve the time
[Bridge]
Some came home to parades
Some came home in flag
The ones who didn't make it back
Still hear the freedom's drag
I'll raise my glass on the Fourth of July
For every name carved in that wall
And I'll tell my kids when they ask me why
Freedom ain't ever been free at all
[Chorus]
For the ones who stand the watch
For the ones who never bend
Salute the ones who carry on
When the road don't have an end
We're marching to the sound
We're standing in the line
Every soldier every sailor
Every heart that serves the time
[Post-Chorus]
Yeah we serve the time
Yeah we serve the time