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I was in manhattan one saturday morning, walking around Union Square, looking for a payphone so I could meet up with some people. There was an NYPD recruiting booth and I had to walk by several times, and they kept on asking me to join. They were practically throwing badges and guns at me! Here! Try on our riot gear! Wanna feel what it's like to be a cop? Pepper spray that kid! Beat up that other kid, with this big-ass baton! No, it's fine! We ARE the law!

when wind blows to gunshots
security blanket's stretching thing
put your name into a hat and take a number
melted down toy soldiers
hand a gun, sent to the desert
with a helmet and a prayer
she's just a kid, she's just a kid

we sit and talk it through in the dark
with a glass of rum and a cigarette
i watch her as she hugs her knees
the timebomb's ticking down on a year
the clock is ticking down on a year till our turn

could you imagine her in fatigues?
could you imagine her in fatigues?
could you imagine her in fatigues?
if dead trees bloom to draft boards next year
i'll take off running

i said to my dad i'm afraid it's going to happen next year,
and i've always been unlucky
he shrugged
it's not that he doesn't care, but he doesn't plan
and he doesn't fear like i do
when leaves turn green i'll pack my bags
and ride on my thumb or on a rail right out of here
there's no way in hell they'll get me in uniform

could you imagine me in fatigues?
could you imagine me in fatigues?
could you imagine me in fatigues?
if dead trees bloom to draft boards next year
i'll take off running
and the leaves just fade to brown again
and i said we're in for another long winter
how's canada?