Old Veteran

[Verse 1]
Dust in the yard
New camp gate
He signed his name
At a rattled-up crate

Young men laughed
Said, "Sir, go home"
He spit in the dirt
Said, "I still know"

Old patch on his coat
Boots worn thin
He'd seen the world
Burn down and spin

[Pre-Chorus]
They checked his hands
They checked his knee
He said, "You need
A man like me"

[Chorus]
Old Veteran
He came again
(Old Veteran)
Back to the line
Old Veteran
He stood with them
(Old Veteran)
When the sky went blind

[Verse 2]
They marched out west
Past cracked stone walls
Past broken signs
And abandoned malls

The kids got scared
When the sirens cried
He said, "Stay low
And stay inside"

He took the lead
Like he never left
With a steady breath
And a loaded vest

[Pre-Chorus]
One more step
One more mile
He said, "Boy, watch me
Walk this fire"

[Chorus]
Old Veteran
He came again
(Old Veteran)
Back to the line
Old Veteran
He stood with them
(Old Veteran)
When the sky went blind

[Bridge]
At dawn they saw
He was still there
Hat in the wind
Gray in his hair

No one too old
To guard the night
When the world gets cruel
And asks for fight

[Final Chorus]
Old Veteran
He came again
(Old Veteran)
Back to the line
Old Veteran
He stood with them
(Old Veteran)
And made it right

Old Veteran
He came again
(Old Veteran)
He was enough
Old Veteran
He fought like men
(Old Veteran)
Till the dust went hush