The Iron Man - Tom Paxton

The orders came, the midnight rain
Was driving down the window pane
They rose like cattle, mess-kit rattle
Showed them green and new to battle
Out on the road, the mud knee-high
The tortured trucks were slithering by
Toward the ruptured, shattered sky
They strove. It hardly mattered why
We find our hero in the mud
We guess the fever in his blood
We try, as he, to laugh at this
The Iron Man whom bullets
He's right, the song has just begun
We'd never kill a man so young
He's right, the song has just begun
We'd never kill a man so young
The sergeant, how they loathed his guts
He led them down the waggon ruts
One truck is stalled, the drivers curse
It's either ambulance or hearse
The air grows foul, the heavy stench
Is seeping from the ancient trench
He takes his place and laughs at this
The Iron Man whom bullets miss
He's right, no matter how they try
The song's too young for him to die
He's right, no matter how they try
The song's too young for him to die
The orders came, the midnight rain
Was driving down the window pane
They rose like cattle, mess-kit rattle
Showed them green and new to battle
Winter came early to the house on the hill, frost, wind and snow
The builders looked at its unfinished frame, then turned to go
A small foundation, a pile of sand, a rusty hammer in a cold, cold hand
It wasn't a big house that they planned, but winter came early and winter came hard
Winter was death to the house on the hill, frost, wind and snow
Warped its timbers and cracked the foundations, then turned to go
The sketch was crumpled in a cold, cold hand. The hammer buried in the pile of sand
The builders' thoughts were of virgin land when winter came early and winter came hard
Spring was puzzled by the house on the hill, last patch of snow
Gave it flowers and climbing vines, then turned to go
Small boys played on the pile of sand, plastic weapons in their eager hands
It wasn't a big house that they planned, but winter came early and winter came hard
The young lieutenant, new to war
Is sick upon the trench's floor
The sergeant, how they cursed his head
Is suddenly quite cold and dead
The deafening explosions cease
The calm a cruel burlesque of peace
The whistle blows, the charge is made
The Iron Man is unafraid
He's right, he's young and brave and strong
Just the kind to fill a song
He's right, he's young and brave and strong
Just the kind to fill a song
The orders came, the midnight rain
Was driving down the window pane
They rose like cattle, mess-kit rattle
Showed them green and new to battle
Frost on the blankets of the strong boys' room
Heat for the sissies, for the prep-school pansies
Ice cold showers for the cool platoon
Once a month a card to mamma
Wipe that smile off and shine your brass
Grab your ankles and I'll give you twenty
Drop that rifle and I'll have your ass
Once a month a card to mamma
Play me the Taps, the quadrangle's sleeping
Here in his rack my roommate is weeping
Someone is weeping. I'll be all right
Goodnight. Goodnight
Town girls love it in the picture shows
Save the dances for the home-town ladies
Save five dollars for the one who knows
Once a month a card to mamma
Grab your ankles for the old cadets
Drop your trousers and you'll get what's coming
Is there more to this than you're quite sure of?
Put it in a card to mamma
Play me the Taps, the quadrangle's sleeping
Here in his rack my roommate is weeping
Someone is weeping. I'll be all right
Goodnight, goodnight!
Play me the Taps, the quadrangle's sleeping
The whistle blows. The charge is made
The Iron Man is unafraid
The young lieutenant screams out loud
The bullets hum like a startled crowd
The young lieutenant screams and falls
The Iron Man runs up the walls
And blows the enemy a kiss
The Iron Man whom bullets miss
He's right, the man whom bullets miss
Is meant for something more than this
He's right, the man whom bullets miss
Is meant for something more than this
The orders came, the midnight rain
Was driving down the window pane
They rose like cattle, mess-kit rattle
Showed them green and new to battle
Angie, from where I stand
The water breaks on the spit of sand
How does it survive?
Angie, for all I know
The sand is tired and ready to go
It's less than alive
But you, so ready to leave. The first trembling leaf to break loose in the Fall
Angie, so ready to fly. Is there time to ask why? Is there no time at all?
Or is there nothing hidden I can blame?
Angie, If Angie's your name!
Angie, from where I stand
Your smile is so discretely planned
I'm not sure it's there
Angie, for all I know
You'll notice me, you'll turn and go
You won't even care
That's you, so ready to leave. The first trembling leaf to break loose in the Fall
Angie, so ready to fly. Is there time to ask why? Is there no time at all?
Or is there nothing hidden I can blame?
Angie, If Angie's your name!
Angie, I was getting along
Nothing quite right, but nothing too wrong
I didn't know you existed
I ran my life like a safe machine
Lost myself in a safe routine
But now it's all twisted
With my hand on the knife
For the rest of my life
Angie, from where I stand
You rise and wave an ungloved hand
You smile in the sun
Angie, you smile for him
He calls to you. The light is dim
You break into a run
And you're gone. So ready to leave. The first trembling leaf to break loose in the Fall
Angie, so ready to fly. Is there time to ask why? Is there no time at all?
Or is there nothing hidden I can blame?
Angie, If Angie's your name!
The battered fort is ours again
It only cost ten-thousand men
And when a young lieutenant dies
Some survivor has to rise
So like a humble prayer of thanks
The Iron Man goes up the ranks
The man whom bullets miss goes far
He wins a kiss and wears a star
And he's right – a man who lives through that
Deserves a star upon his hat
He's right – a man who lives through that
Deserves a star upon his hat
And now the nation cheers his name
The politicians play his game
He's coaxed and shrewdly follows fate
Until he's leader of the State
The peace grows dull, the pace too slow
At last he finds convenient foe
The Congress balks, the galleries hiss
The Iron Man whom bullets miss
But he's right, the man whom bullets miss
Is meant for something more than this
He's right, the Generals pat their guns
And Congress turns and Congress runs
He's right, the nation shouts its thanks
The young men run to join the ranks
He's right, his name is in their blood
While huddling in some foreign mud
The orders came, the midnight rain
Was driving down the window pane
They rose like cattle, mess-kit rattle
Showed them green and new to battle
Play me the Taps, the quadrangle's sleeping
Here in his rack my roommate is weeping
Someone is weeping, I'll be all right
Goodnight, goodnight!