Lyrics Jason Isbell

Jason Isbell

Soldiers Get Strange

You want her to try new things

She reminds you she wears your ring

and after a couple drinks she's a little scared of you

A good friend is hard to find

You wish you could spend more time

towing civilian lines, but they're all scared of you

It's not the time that makes it go bad

It's not the thought of what you could've had

It's not the way that her figure has changed

It's just that a soldier gets strange

You know she's a real good girl

She reminds you that every curl

that whips in the wind of the world

is watched by the eyes of God

But lately your mane's gone white

You itch in your veins in the night

Before you "came home alright"

you wielded the lightning rod

It ain't the time that makes it go South

It ain't the liquor that burns in your mouth

Nearly nothing around here's changed

It's just that a soldier gets strange

She turns off the lights so you can't see her body

You can't make her fight when you know that you're wrong

They call you a hero, so many still fighting

This ain't where you belong

Maybe you'll re-enlist

It couldn't be worse than this

But think of the things you'll miss

If you're inside the wire again

It's not the dreams that keep you up late

It's not the world you saw incinerate

It's not the way that her figure has changed

It's just that a soldier gets strange

Most of all you got strange