I turned 18 September ’01
Graduated the next May
What with all the flag waving
And no money in savings
I decided to join the Army
But my brother said be careful little sister
It’s not like what they show you in the pictures
They say ‘be all you can be,’ but it seems to me
They’ll turn you into what they want you to be
I got shipped out October ’03
They sent me over to Kuwait
The day I arrived some guy looked me in the eye
And said, aw shit, another chick
Who can’t pull her own weight
He said you better look out little sister
This is nothing like what you’ve seen in the pictures
They talk about smart bombs and civilian rights
But it don’t mean shit when you’re getting shot at
In the middle of the night
But I remembered what my Sergeant back in Basic said
He said, war will show you what you’re made of
When you go head to head with evil and death
That’s when you find out what you’re capable of
I ended up in Abu Ghraib
After the war was supposedly over
You had to be tough with those Iraqi thugs
You had to be tough with your fellow soldiers
Now I don’t know what to tell you mister
You can see for yourself in the pictures
You ask me if I’ve got anything to say
Well, no, sir, I was trained to listen and obey
And I don’t know what to tell you mom and dad
I’m still the same girl you had
But I guess Sarge was right, this war has shown
Things about me I’d never known