Camel - Drafted Lyrics
*****'s thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door. The postman muttered something about wishing he could go too and handed over a yellow envelope. It was a command long overdue that called for healthy, young men. In reply to your request, please find... I hereby protest. To the ways and means you use you know... I cannot refuse. So I'll take this vow of Loyalty. Fight for the right, You have said, To be free. When this time has run its course, I must... Live without remorse. For the deeds I'm bound to do, I know... it's all the same to you. But I won't forget the memory... Taking a life, for a life... to be free. *****'s life revolved around orders. He found himself pushed and pulled onto a crowded deck of uniformed figures who shared the same expressionless faces. Loved ones stood anxiously on the pier as the transport faded into separating mist. Water and night seemed one. ***** was going to war... Thunder cracked. Ramps hit the beach and countless boots assaulted the shore. His heart punding, ***** stumbled headlong into the undergrowth in a desperate search for refuge. Sheets of rain drenched the sunless forest as the skies opened raging down on the tiny island. Panic-stricken, ***** staggered forward and fell unconscious. Raindrops spattered from the trees onto *****'s face. Startled and confused, ***** listened in the humid silence; he was alone and had no idea where he was. Worst of all, he didn't know what had become of his Regiment. The setting sin left ***** with the growing darkness of his fears. He made camp and slept with dreams of a dawn rescue, unaware that his Unit had already left the island. In wartime, one less soldier is hardly noticeable. Seasons turned with time. ***** had given up the search for his Unit but continued to move through the jungle, bayonet poised, as if a thousand eyes were upon him. Home was a cave in a hidden lagoon with abundant vegetation and fresh springs. The highest point of the island provided shelter from annual monsoon floods and sanctuary for his soul. His military duties consisted of a monthly visit to the mountain top whereupon he ceremoniously croaked the national anthem and fired one precious bullet into the air. In the loneliness he endured, ***** found an inner strength that flowed with the rhythm of instinct.
