Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Soldiers

I'll definitely be playing this at the Poems Against War / Poetry In Baltimore event October 19 at Load of Fun Gallerie. Meanwhile, if you play guitar, spread the meme.

I heard a little bit of the buzz going around about Sally Field getting censored by Fox for saying during the Emmys that "If mothers ruled the world, there wouldn't be any goddamn wars in the first place." It bounced around my brain a bit, stuck on to some other stuff, and this is what came out.

words by Tom Swiss
to the tune of "Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Cowboys", by
Ed Bruce and Patsy Bruce

guitar chords: D - G - A7 - D

Mamas don't let your babies grow up to be soldiers
Don't let 'em be fooled by the masters of war
Teach 'em that peace is what to work for
Mamas don't let your babies grow up to be soldiers
They can die all alone
A long way from from home
Giving their life for a lie

Young boys play war with toy guns and they always pretend
Someday that they'll grow up and be brave and fight like real men
Marching to death at the orders of generals,
all for the U. S. of A.
But war ain't a game, there's no glory in killing,
old soldiers fade away

Soldiers they fight for their buddies, they fight for their country
But they always get lied to by the men who send them to die
'Cause war's good for business, makes money
for somebody back there pullin' strings
The ones who teach men to hate
send 'em off to battle, to kill and to never ask why

Mamas don't let your babies grow up to be soldiers
Don't let 'em be fooled by the masters of war
Teach 'em that peace is what to work for