The first time it was fathers, the last time it was sons
And in between, your husbands marched away with drums and guns
And you never thought to question, you just went on with your lives
'Cause all they taught you who to be, was mothers, daughters, wives
You can only just remember the tears your mother shed
As she sat and read their papers through the lists and lists of dead
And the gold frame held the photograph that mother kissed each night
And the doorframe held the shocked and silent stranger from the fight
The first time it was fathers, the last time it was sons
And in between, your husbands marched away with drums and guns
And you never thought to question, you just went on with your lives
'Cause all they taught you who to be, was mothers, daughters, wives
It was twenty-one years later with children of your own
The trumpets sounded once again and the soldier boys were gone
So you made their guns and drove
Their trucks and tended to their wounds
And at night you kissed the photograph and hoped for safe return
And after it was over, you had to learn again
To be just wives and mothers when you'd done the work of men
So you worked to help the needy and you never trod on toes
And the photos on the mantelpiece struck a happy family pose
The first time it was fathers, the last time it was sons
And in between, your husbands marched away with drums and guns
And you never thought to question, you just went on with your lives
'Cause all they taught you who to be, was mothers, daughters, wives
And your daughters grew to women and your little boys to men
And you prayed that you were dreaming when the call-up came again
But you bravely smiled and held
Your tears as they proudly waved goodbye
And the photos on the mantelpiece, they always made you cry
And now you're getting older and in time the photos fade
And in widowhood you sit back and reflect on the parade
Of the passing of your memories,
How your daughters changed their lives
Seeing more to their existences than mothers, daughters, wives
The first time it was fathers, the last time it was sons
And in between, your husbands marched away with drums and guns
And you never thought to question, you just went on with your lives
'Cause all they taught you who to be, was mothers, daughters, wives
And you believed them when they said
You were just mothers, daughters, wives