I could tell he'd had a tough life by the way he sat and stared And me, I'd come to push and shove, so I pulled up a chair We talked of roads untraveled, we talked of love untrue Of strings that come unraveled, we were kings and kindred fools And just when I'd hit bottom, that old man raised his glass Said, "At least we had our chances, there's those who never have"
So here's to all the soldiers who have ever died in vain The insane locked up in themselves, and the homeless down on Main To those who stand on empty shores, and spit against the wind And those who wait forever for ships that don't come in
He said, "It's only life's illusions that bring us to this bar To pick up these old crutches and compare each other's scars 'Cause the things we're calling heartaches, hell, they're hardly worth our time We bitch about a dollar when there's those without a dime" As he ordered one last round, he said, "I guess we can't complain 'Cause God made life a gamble, and we're still in the game"
So here's to all the soldiers who have ever died in vain The insane locked up in themselves, the homeless down on Main To those who stand on empty shores, and spit against the wind And those who wait forever for ships that don't come in
And those who wait forever for ships that don't come in