Friday night down at the legion bar
Bill opened up a box of old cigars
Said, ""On this day back in '69, I lost a best friend of mine""
Connor said, ""That's a place I've been, but it was 2010 Afghanistan""
He raised his glass
Said, ""Here's to friends and the ultimate sacrifice""
Yeah, the times and places they may change
But one thing stays the same
The stories that they tell
About going through hell
If you think they wouldn't do it all over again
Well, you just don't know them
The memories that they own
Of the ones that didn't make it home
Yeah, they sure do miss 'em
But they keep 'em all living
In the stories that they tell
Bartender said, ""Next round's on me
I spent some time overseas
Tonight's my first night behind this bar""
Bill handed him a cigar
Well, the faces in the pictures they may change
But one thing stays the same
The stories that they tell
About going through hell
If you think they wouldn't do it all over again
Well, you just don't know them
The memories that they own
Of the ones that didn't make it home
Yeah, they sure do miss 'em
But they keep 'em all living
In the stories that they tell
Yeah, some will laugh
And some will cry
Sometimes they'll wonder why
And I've been there, so I wrote this song
I know the need to carry on
The stories that they tell
About going through hell
If you think they wouldn't do it all over again
Well, you just don't know them
The memories that they own
Of the ones who didn't make it home
Yeah, they sure do miss 'em
But they keep 'em all living
In the stories that they tell
Yeah, we sure do miss 'em
But we keep 'em all living
In the stories that we tell"