You can go to war when you're 18
But you can't buy a beer
You can load missiles on a submarine
But you can't buy a pistol here
You can breathe chemical weapon skims
But they don't want you to smoke
So when you're shootin' up a bar in Baghdad, don't order a rum and coke
You can have sex when you're 17
You just can't have a cigarette
You ain't old enough for a slot machine
Or to lay down a football bet
But they'll take you to the clinic if you're 15
And your folks don't have to know
Or you can take penicillin, just don't watch people
Gettin' naked on video
You can be a governor at 21
Or a president at 35
You can be the senator from south Carolina
If you can just stay alive
They'll throw you in with sharks when you're 12 years old
Teach you to scuba dive
But when you're 94 and can't see anymore
They'll still let you drive
Just don't get caught ith no beer in your hand if you just turned 18
They don't mind you ownin' a sedoline torch
And a gallon of gasoline
You just can't buy smokes at the liquor store or y'all will both go to jail
But they'll sell you a rope
So you can hang yourself while you're listening to Nine Inch Nails
It's a sorry World
It's a sooorry world
It's a sorry world when you can raise youngans but you can't smoke a Marlborough
It's a sorry world when you're 17 and you can't call a callgirl.