Lyrics

He came home with quiet eyes
And a name he rarely used
Carried years inside his shoulders
Like a coat he couldn’t lose

He never talks about the medals
Never hangs them on the wall
Says the ones who made it home
Aren’t the bravest ones at all

He wakes before the sunrise
Checks the windows, checks the street
Keeps his back against the doorway
Keeps the silence underneath

People call him steady
Like steady means untouched
They don’t see the way he holds himself
When the whole room gets too much

Still he gets up
Still he goes
Still he carries what nobody knows

Lone soldier
Standing when the night comes down
Lone soldier
Feet still planted on the ground

No parade can make it easy
No applause can make it right
But he keeps walking through the dark
Like he remembers how to fight

Lone soldier
Still here, still strong
Even when the war is gone

He helps the kid across the hallway
Fix a chain and change a tire
Keeps extra food inside the cupboard
For the week the checks run dry

He knows every siren’s distance
Knows the weight behind a sound
But when somebody needs a hand
He is always somewhere around

He doesn’t call it courage
Doesn’t think it means a thing
Just says somebody has to stay
When everything starts caving in

Still he gets up
Still he goes
Still he carries what nobody knows

Lone soldier
Standing when the night comes down
Lone soldier
Feet still planted on the ground

No parade can make it easy
No applause can make it right
But he keeps walking through the dark
Like he remembers how to fight

Lone soldier
Still here, still strong
Even when the war is gone

They told him coming home was peace
But peace don’t come that clean
They told him time would close the wounds
Time only hides what people see

Still he breathes
Still he stands
Still he builds with shaking hands

Still he stands
Still he stands

Strength ain’t never being broken
Strength is waking up again
Strength is carrying the pieces
And still showing up for them

Lone soldier
Standing when the night comes down
Lone soldier
Feet still planted on the ground

No parade can make it easy
No applause can make it right
But he keeps walking through the dark
And brings somebody else to light

Lone soldier
Still here, still strong
Even when the war is gone

Lone soldier
No flag, no marching drum
Just another morning rising
And another day begun

Still here
Still strong
Even when the war is gone