They're Bringing Back the Draft

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In 1980, Congress re-instated the requirement that young men register with the Selective Service System. At that time, it was required that all males, born on or after January 1, 1960 register with the Selective Service System. Those of us from the Vietnam era saw this as the precursor to another wartime draft and, of course, another war.

Seems like we're close to war
Ain’t it so these days
The army wants your body
To stuff their uniforms
And if you don't resist the draft
Get ready for war
Standing with a gun on some
Foreign shore

They're bringing back the draft, boys
What are you gonna do
And when they fight in another war
You'll be part of the crew

They say there's good pay
To learn a skill
$419 a month to learn to kill
And you can travel far and wide
We've got troops on all sides
And you can pay for it all with your life

The widows of the last war
They're crying it’s such a shame
For the price of war is human lives
Sorry, there is no fame
For it’s always the old
Who are making the wars
And it’s always the young who must fall

They're bringing back the draft, boys
What are you gonna do
And when they fight in another war
Will you be part of the crew

Let's not forget
What an army is for
But it’s alright
If you need to fight
'Cause we've got wars in our land
You know it just seems right
To fight for our rights here at home

We've got a war on poverty
A war on crime
So many more if you've got the time
You won't need a gun
Because you'll kill no one
And everybody wins when it’s all done
And you know that it’s all right
Because we're working for life
And we'll fight for the peace ‘till it’s won

They're bringing back the draft, boys
what are you gonna do
And when they fight in another war
Will you be a part of the crew?

Seems like we're close to war
Ain’t it so these days
The army wants your body
To stuff their uniforms
And if you don't resist the draft
Get ready for war
Standing with a gun on some
Foreign shore
©Eric Pappas 1980