He was only a boy when they called his name
They said he was grown, but he was never the same
With a gun in his hand, and a world full of shame
He was only a child, trying to play the game
The battlefield's cold, the sky is black
Under deadly fire, they prepare to attack
His mother is calling, but he cannot hear
He's trying to shut out the nerves and the fear
He's a child of the battlefield, all smoke and cold steel
His feelings denied and emotion concealed
They say he's a soldier, but he cannot yet feel
Like the fully grown man that he's destined to be
Just a child of the battlefield
In the trenches of war, there's no one to trust
There's fire in his eyes, but his soul's become dust
He tries to believe in bravado and spin
The soldier without and the child within
He's a child of the battlefield, all smoke and cold steel
His feelings denied and emotion concealed
They say he's a soldier, but he cannot yet feel
Like the fully grown man that he's destined to be
Just a child of the battlefield
He thinks of the life that he left behind
Of summers to come and the joy he will find
'Though he's growing older, you can see in his eyes
He's a soldier at war, still a child in disguise
He's a child of the battlefield, all smoke and cold steel
His feelings denied and emotion concealed
They say he's a soldier, but he cannot yet feel
Like the fully grown man that he's destined to be
Just a child of the battlefield
Just a child of the battlefield