Soldier Without a Country

Verse 1

He raised his hand and took the oath,

Swore to defend this land,

Wore the uniform of the U.S. Army,

Served with a steady hand,

But when his duty days were done,

And he came back to Tacoma his home town,

ICE was waiting at the door,

To turn his whole world upside down.

Chorus

One hundred twenty-four days

Behind detention walls,

A soldier without a country,

Who answered when it called,

They say take service into consideration,

But the policy just stalls,

One hundred twenty-four days—

A veteran falls.

Verse 2

Down in the Tacoma center,

Where the gray walls never end,

Advocates are raising voices

For a man who served to defend,

Non-citizen service members caught

Between the lines of law,

Policies written on the page

But broken without a flaw.

Chorus

One hundred twenty-four days

Behind detention walls,

A soldier without a country,

Who answered when it called,

They say take service into consideration,

But the policy just stalls,

One hundred twenty-four days—

A veteran falls.

Verse 3

In Washington State the rain comes down

On stories left untold,

Of men who bled beneath our flag

But were left out in the cold,

KING 5 brought it to the light,

Facing Race, they showed his name,

A soldier locked in his own homeland—

Tell me, who deserves the blame?

Bridge

They handed him a rifle,

Said, "This country is your own,"

But when the battle ended,

They said, "Soldier, go back home,"

Somewhere across an ocean

He never really knew—

He fought for stars and stripes,

Now tell me, what is true?

Chorus

One hundred twenty-four days

Behind detention walls,

A soldier without a country,

Who answered when it called,

They say take service into consideration,

But the policy just stalls,

One hundred twenty-four days—

A veteran falls.

Inspired by real events. Names, details, and narrative may be fictionalized.