No Gold Star
Johnny got his gun,
Marched off to war.
Mother in the doorway
Waved goodbye and wept,
Father hugged the phonograph,
Played "Climb up on my knee sonny boy"
Over and over and over again.
When the flag is waving
Your country calls.
Right or wrong you go.
Ready on the right!
Ready on the left!
The flag is waving,
The flag is down: FIRE!!
Wringing our hands in anguish
Beelzebub hovers around us
Ready to strike any moment.
Waiting, glued to the news
For any hint of a truce.
When bodies stop falling
And Johnny comes home
We'll love all the sinners
As well as the saints.
"The blue birds over
the white cliffs of Dover"
reverberated in mother's head
while she prayed for no
gold star in the window.