How did you get so east-side baptized? How did you get that flag unfurled? How did you get from one side of the city to the other side of the world? How did it come to two clear solitudes? How did it come to war without end? The stray mines between the lines of the letters that we always mean to send A cool callow unspoken alliance Is this hard-won radio silence A long bitter unbroken reliance On this conspiracy of silence How can it be so hard to sign a cease-fire? How can you read between enemy lines? The bitter terms of the rules of this engagement we've forced ourselves to sign
There's a bunker of regret that you're defending And there's a trench in my soldier's heart Not only can I not imagine this ending, I can't remember when it started Hey, hey, hip, hip, you young lions Long live the radio silence I wanna know, is it stupid when we suffer? I wanna know, is it all for nothing? How'd it come to this? I wonder howâ! That's the question we're never prepared for That's the window we can't see through That's that little sweet smile that you get when you can't believe it's true