born on the fourth of july

as a schoolboy i played with a plastic grenade

it was gray and with caps it was loaded

in the dirt we would cry and dramatically die

as it flew to the air and exploded

as a young man my dream was to be a marine

my flag was worth all i could bring it

the country was young

when the anthem was sung

well it gave me the goosebumps to sing it

i was born on the fourth of july

no one more loyal than i

when my country said so i was ready to go

and i wish i'd been left there to die

when i landed in 'nam

i was great uncle sam

i was fighting for god and my mother

and i knew what to do when my first tour was through

i signed up and went back for another

but it all tumbled down when we ambushed the town

in the night how the metal was flying

we blew it to hell

really did our job well

but just women and kids did the dying

i was born on the fourth of july

no one more loyal than i

when my country said so i was ready to go

and i wish i'd been left there to die

in the damn dmz

it all ended for me

the fighting broke out and we scattered

one shot hit my heel

the last thing i feel

the next hit my spine and it shattered

in my hospital bed i could hear what was said

and the word will stay with me forever

with my whole life ahead

my body was dead

and the word they were using was never

i was born on the fourth of july

no one more loyal than i

when my country said so i was ready to go

and i wish i'd been left there to die

now i wheel myself down to the crossroads of town

to watch the young girls and their lovers

and my mind is afire

it's alive with desire

christ

i'd barely begun

now it's over

in my wheelchair for life

my mechanical wife

i'm supposed to be cheerful and stoic

i'm your old tried-and-true

yankee doodle to you

clean-cut

paralysed and heroic

i was born on the fourth of july

no one more loyal than i

when my country said so i was ready to go

and i wish i'd been left there to die