Two days past eighteen,
He was waitin' for the bus in his army greens,
Sat down in a booth, at a café there,
Gave his order to a girl with a bow in her hair,
He's a little shy, so she gave him a smile,
And he said, would you mind sittin' down for awhile,
And talkin' to me, I'm feelin' a little low,
She said, I'm off in an hour and I know where we can go.

So they went down and they sat on the pier,
He said, I bet you got a boyfriend, but I don't care,
I've got no one, to send a letter to,
Would you mind if I sent one back here to you?

I cried
Never gonna hold the hand of another guy,
Too young for him they told her,
Waitin' for the love of a travelin' soldier,
Our love will never end
Waitin' for the soldier to come back again,
Never more to be alone,
When the letter says, a soldier's coming home.

So the letters came from an army camp,
In California, then Vietnam,
And he told her of his heart,
It might be love and all of the things he was so scared of,
He said, when it's gettin' kinda rough over here,
I think of that day sittin' down at the pier,
And I close my eyes, and see your pretty smile,
Don't worry, but I won't be able to write for awhile.

I cried
Never gonna hold the hand of another guy,
Too young for him they told her,
Waitin' for the love of a travelin' soldier,
Our love will never end,
Waitin' for the soldier to come back again,
Never more to be alone,
When the letter says a soldier's coming home.

One Friday night at a football game,
The Lord's Prayer said and the anthem sang,
A man said, folks won't you bow your heads,
For a list of local, Vietnam dead.

Cryin' all alone under the stands,
Was a piccolo player in the marching band,
And one name read, an' nobody really cared,
But a pretty little girl with a bow in her hair,

I cried
Never gonna hold the hand of another guy,
Too young for him they told her,
Waitin' for the love of a travelin' soldier,
Our love will never end,
Waitin' for the soldier to come back again,
Never more to be alone,
When the letter says a soldier's coming...

I cried
Never gonna hold the hand of another guy,
Too young for him they told her,
Waitin' for the love of a travelin' soldier,
Our love will never end,
Waitin' for the soldier to come back again,
Never more to be alone,
When the letter says a soldier's coming home.