It's the ashes of war
that have brought us no peace
Though we sent our young men
They asked for a release

Release from the chains
as they left us wanting
Their children behind
and their wives left undaunting

We pray for their lives
as we watch them defend
their own hearts from sure pain
and the backs of their friends

You cannot bring back
men without all their medals
as they lay in their graves
like a rose with no petals

If we all just sit
and we pray here all day
Perhaps we'll release them
from chains as they lay