[Verse 1]
Two days past eighteen
He was waiting for the bus in his army greens
Sat down in a booth in a cafe there
Gave his order to a girl with a bow in her hair
He's a little shy so she give him a smile
And he said "would you mind sitting down for a while and talking to me and feeling a little low"
She said "I'm off in an hour and I know where we can go"
So they went down and they sat on the pier
He said "I bet you got a boyfriend, but I don't care
I got no one, to send a letter to
Would you mind if I sent a-one back here to you?"
[Chorus]
I cried
Never gonna hold the hand of another guy
Too young, for him they told her
Waiting for the love of a travelin' soldier
Our love will never end
Waiting for the soldier to come back again
Never more to be alone
When the letter says a soldier's coming home
[Verse 2]
So the letters came from an army camp
In California then Vietnam
And he told her of his heart, it might be love
And all of the things he was so scared of
Said "when it's getting kinda rough over here
I think of that day sitting down on the pier
And I close my eyes, and see your pretty smile
Don't worry but I won't be able to write for a while"
[Chorus]
[Verse 3]
One Friday night at a football game
The Lord's Prayer said and the anthem sang
A man said 'folks, would you bow your heads
For a list of local Vietnam dead"
Crying all alone under the stands was a piccolo player in the marching band
And one name read, and nobody really cared
But a pretty little girl with a bow in her hair
[Chorus]