From the recording The Good Ol' Days
Lyrics
[VERSE 1]
I was nineteen, stuck in Ohio, watching my life stand still
Factory smoke and dead‑end roads, nothing but time to kill
Signed my name on a dotted line just to get the hell out fast
Picked artillery ‘cause it shipped out first — didn’t care what the job was past that
Took a long bus ride to nowhere, first flight I’d ever known
Alone for the first damn time in my life, scared but I didn’t let it show
[PRE-CHORUS]
Thought I’d end up in Colorado, mountains and clean cold air
But the Army laughed and stamped my file — “Son, you’re headed down to Texas somewhere.”
[CHORUS]
First Cav, 2‑82, Steel Dragons on my sleeve
A kid too young to drink a beer but old enough to bleed
Twenty years old in Kuwait heat, weapon between my knees
Twenty‑eight hours on a C‑130, praying God remembered me
I was scared as hell but I stood my ground
Found brothers in that desert sand—
Steel Dragons made a man out of me
[VERSE 2]
Landed hard in a furnace, hundred‑thirty in the shade
Sweat and sand and diesel smoke, wondering what choice I’d made
Learned dominoes from a sergeant who’d been there more than twice
Said, “Kid, fear’s just part of it — courage is the sacrifice.”
Nights were long and quiet, days were loud and mean
But we laughed when we could, fought when we had to, lived somewhere in between
[PRE-CHORUS]
I kept a picture of home in my pocket, creased from being held tight
Didn’t know if I’d ever see Ohio again, but I prayed for it every night
[CHORUS]
First Cav, 2‑82, Steel Dragons on my sleeve
A kid too young to drink a beer but old enough to bleed
Twenty years old in Kuwait heat, weapon between my knees
Twenty‑eight hours on a C‑130, praying God remembered me
I was scared as hell but I stood my ground
Found brothers in that desert sand—
Steel Dragons made a man out of me
[BRIDGE]
Some things you don’t talk about, some things you never shake
Some nights I still hear engines roar, some memories don’t fade
But I’d do it all again, even knowing what it cost
‘Cause the boy who left Ohio ain’t the man who came back lost
[FINAL CHORUS]
First Cav, 2‑82, Steel Dragons on my sleeve
A kid too young to drink a beer but old enough to bleed
Desert sun and fear and pride, all burned into my skin
I left at nineteen not knowing much — came home a different man
I was scared as hell but I stood my ground
Found brothers in that desert sand—
Steel Dragons made a man out of me