Ashes of the Dust

(hummmm) Nineteen years old with a drafted name

Boarded that bird in the pouring rain

Landed out west in the jungle heat

Red clay mud sticking to my feet

Letters from home turning pale and thin

Wondering which line we were standing in

Rotors in the tree-line cutting through the dusk Breathing in the diesel

and the river rust They told us keep marching till the morning

broke

(oh yeah)

Lord,

who's gonna carry all this heavy load?

Too far from Georgia on a muddy road

Silver birds screaming in the Delta rain Nobody tells you how to

wash the pain

(nobody tells you, no)

Saw Tommy fall down by the riverside

Still had his sister's photograph untied

We held the perimeter through the midnight smoke

Counted the promises our captains broke

Packing up our rations in an empty tin

Praying for the day that we could begin again

(yeah, take it down)

Lord, who's gonna carry all this heavy load?

Too far from Georgia on a muddy road

Silver birds screaming in the Delta rain Nobody tells you how to

wash the pain

(no, they never tell you)

Wash the pain away...

(wash it clean, yeah) Too many good boys left in the clay (hmmmmm)