I'm no Arlo, but I know you guys are wise folkies who could help me improve as a writer. Please do tell me what you think of these.

The Eagle's Nest
The winds of change blow accross the land
The desert for to cool
They bluster on through Baghdad
Then blow on to Kabul
And on their gusts are born the heros
Ready for well-earned rest
Oh, come return you weary men
Home to the eagle's nest

It's been six years since last your boots
On your home soil have trod
And since you bade your wife farewell
With a kiss, a wink, a nod
You knew not then how long you'd go
You never could have guessed
'Twas for too long, but now return
Home to the eagle's nest

The humvees roar, the jets they soar
O'er the white-hot desert sand
The sounds of rockets' sonic screech
O'er all the war-torn land
Return you tired, you tortured souls
Our finest, brightest, best
Return you weary, dreary souls
Home to the eagle's nest

War builds the walls of hatred tall
And now they tumble down
As guns and bombs and drums of war
Are laid upon the ground
We'll beat the swords to plow-shears
As lamb with lion rests
And men of war fly peacefully home
Back to the eagle's nest

A hard rain is a-gonna fall
On Baghdad, on Kabul
They'll lay down guns, take up the plow
And try to start anew
The mighty dove with olive branch
Clutched tightly to its breast
Soars lightly on the winds of change
Home to the eagle's nest

Copyright 2007 Seth Kennedy; all rights reserved

Recording now available: www.myspace.com/SethKennedyChicago

I think it's beautiful ARR

Just one thing (and I hate to bang on about the same old thing) alot of the soldiers are women and thay might feel kinda left out when they heard your lovely song. I think it is still hard enough for them to feel accepted in the services and it would probably give them some hope to be included in such a song.

That is really good. You oughta get that recorded. I bet it woukd sound neat...

Nice lyrics...but you really need to consider whether it's wise to post new lyrics in a public area of the internet, where anyone else can copyright them before you do. Unless, you've got lots of money to get lawyers involved when someone does. There's unscrupulous people out there!

I read somewhere yrs ago that you can copyright your own lyrics by mailing a copy of them to yourself in the mail & not opening it up. I wonder if that would work...

Copyright law changed a few years ago, and actually made it easier to establish your copyright, but what's legal and what's practical are not necessarily the same. It would be cold comfort to know you own the copyright if you had to spend lots of $$ to prove it in court.

Alices'sRR, at the least, I'd add this to the bottom of your post, NOW, Kid!:

Copyright 2007 (your legal name); all rights reserved.

Gotta agree with louise - lots of women over there. And, State Dept folks who aren't counted into the equation....or even counted into the injured and fatalities lists.

i'll third that... always put that copyright thingy....it really will help if it comes to court... it costs around $40 last time i copyrighted....

i love the lyrics....they are beautiful....do you write music??...

If you change wife's to "spouse", and men to "soldiers" then the tune is gender neutral and acknowledges all afflicted.

If anyone can genuinely read this and think that I'm deliberately excluding women etc.........how? Yeah, I use the words 'wife' and 'men,' but I'm not saying 'Keep the women over there!' There's no question that the archetypal image that people have of a soldier is a man. While women as well are over there, I'm simply playing off the archetype. I would love to put "men and women, both in combat and non-combat roles" instead, but unfortunately, song structure is fairly limited. The few people that I have played this song for in person (and yes, kj, I do write music as well) haven't thought it sexist in the least even when asked if they did. I'll see if I can work stuff in and keep the flow. And hey, if that's the biggest problem you see, I guess my lyrics are ok!

Thanks for the kind words, guys.

It is a stirring song and a beautiful one. If songs like this can be gender neutral they may be stronger because they speak to more people, but by getting to know you around here, we know that you mean it as inclusive. Above all, keep writing! And thanks for sharing!

Edited to add: I couldn't agree less on this: "There's no question that the archetypal image that people have of a soldier is a man." Women have been soldiers since there have been soldiers. They just never got a lot of favorable press.

Leapinglizards, your "thanks" to the "guys" is a solid indication that you won't easily give up that "archetype". I am not saying anything is deliberate...just an unintentional, non-inclusive mindset.

Yeah that's all I'm saying.Seems by now people should have moved forward from the archetypes of the past. Nothing is written in stone. Whether it's gender,race whatever. All I know is I'm female and when I feel females are still being left out of stuff that they are actually involved in or they are excluded from things because of their gender I don't think it's wrong to give someone a gentle reminder. If women still feel they have to just shut up or they will be attacked, then things will never move forward or even may go backwards as I and others have noticed at times. Now I can't talk for others who have this problem because of their race or religion or even male gender cos I haven't walked in their shoes,or should I say I can speak AGAINST racism, ageism, sexism against males (stuff like portraying them as stupid or hopeless with children or all as rapists etc) but I can only FEEL how a female can feel from inside because I'm female. So males can't feel what is like to be excluded but lots of them can understand and notice it happening.
And most people say these things unintentionally, and I don't think it's wrong to maybe help them see that.
For my daughters sake I will never be silent. She has three Degrees and is accepted in the world of Science and Education, she can get a home loan by herself, she doesn't have to give up her job if she gets married or when she has a baby................she could even win a Noble Prize or be President.
If women had never spoken up these doors would all be closed to her still, imagine all the medical breakthroughs that haven't happened or all the things that haven't been invented because women were excluded. Hey we wouldn't have a woman (Nancy) giving Dubya hell !!!!!
I could go on for hours but my sermon is done, I never meant offend just speak up for our GIRLS over there. Someone asks for my opinion on something I give 'em the truth or else what good is them asking.
PEACE to you ARR.

Please don't ttake what I said as "women should shut up," because that's really not at all how I feel. Hell, I'm dating an ardent feminist, so it better not be how I feel! In any case, I simply meant that I don't think a male character in a song is inherently anti-women or exclusive. The character that I chose to sing to in the "It's been six years" stanza happens to be male, yes, but I don't want women to stay over there or to not be brought home as quickly. When I speak of our troops in a normal context, I use the words troops, soldeirs, men and women, boys and girls, etc. In a song, it's just whatever stream of conciousness word comes out with the flow that fits. As for the "men of war" reference in the "War build the walls" stanza is a biblical phrase, continuing the allusion that I established with the lamb/lion imagery and the "beating plowshears into swords." I really don't mean it as an overtly (or even subliminally) antifeminist statement or anything, it's just the way I wrote the song.

As for my use of the word "guys," I really don't see why I should have to defend that, but I will if you want. I use the word "guys" simply in place of the word "everyone" or "people." Hell, even when I'm hanging out with a group of all girls, I (and they, frequently) say things like "hey, guys," etc. I didn't think that was really a contested point....

I guess I have to remember that people are way too politically correct when I write songs next time.

Where we live, "guys" means men and boys, and never, ever means women or girls. Ever. So when I see or hear it in a context like that, I bristle. It's less a matter of being PC and more a matter of being provincial.