Ain't That A Bitch

When I was a kid
I remembered that my mom always used to tell me these stories of what heroes were

The idea that a hero is defined by an unwavering moral righteousness
And that they were created in an effort to combat a villain

And that the villain of a story was always just this bad guy who got the wrong deal on life
And it was the job of the hero to show them why they were bad

And I remember that there were always real life heroes
Like firefighters
Or like a soldier

And I remember when I enlisted I told myself that I was doing the right thing for my country
That I was gonna be the hero

I remember what it felt like to feel like I was gonna save people

And I remember when my boots hit the ground in the desert and I felt the sting of the sun on my skin
That I knew that pain was gonna be worth it
Because I was gonna come home and I was gonna get some medals pinned to my chest and I was gonna be the hero
And I remember the first time I picked up that gun and I remember the first time I pointed it at someone

And I still feel in the back of my head the pain when the bullet fired
And I can still feel the splatter when the blood
Hit the sand
And I still feel that shell casing so very hot

And I felt that shell hit my hand and it left a burn on my palm

And I remember that when that bullet passed through and came out the other side
That whatever I left standing there that I made sure they weren't there anymore

And now I finally think I get it That the heroes of the stories that our parents always told us
Was the villains of somebody else's story Ain't that a bitch