[Verse 1]

I left in boots too big for my soul,

Chasin’ glory I couldn’t control.

They called us brave, we called it luck,

Swore we’d come home no matter what.

Dust in our lungs, blood on our sleeves,

Trading youth for a war that never leaves.

I watched good men disappear in flame,

Now I wake up screaming their names.

[Pre-Chorus]

Sometimes I wish I never made it out,

‘Cause peace is quiet, but it still shouts.

I see their eyes in strangers’ stares,

Hear their laughter in empty chairs.

I breathe their silence, I feel their weight,

They died for duty—I live with hate.

And I wonder if they’d even recognize

The man who made it out alive.

[Chorus]

Still here… and I don’t know why.

Walkin’ through days I never chose to survive.

People say “hero,” but I can’t agree,

Not when ghosts sleep next to me.

Yeah, I came back… but I’m not the same,

Wearin’ their deaths like a hidden chain.

And every smile I fake is a scream,

Still here… but stuck in between.

[Verse 2]

I don’t talk much—it never lands,

How do you explain blood on your hands?

They tell me, “Heal, it’s in the past,”

But time don’t work like that.

I see them fall in every flash,

Hear the radio go dead in the crash.

I drive in silence, sit in crowds,

But part of me’s still pinned down.

[Chorus]

Still here… and breaking inside,

Wearing medals like a place to hide.

I toast to the ones who never came home,

But deep down, I feel alone.

Yeah, I came back… but left myself there,

Scattered in dust, in gunpowder air.

And every breath just makes it clear…

Still here… when they’re not near.

[Bridge]

I pray for peace I’ll never find,

Their faces tattooed across my mind.

Tried to run, tried to drink it down,

But they haunt me in this quiet town.

[Outro]

Still here… and it don’t feel fair,

Carryin’ stories no one can bear.

They gave their all—I just endure,

Living a life I can’t be sure is mine anymore.

Yeah, I came back… but I’m hollowed through,

No roadmap tells me what to do.

Just breathing, just bleeding, just gettin’ by…

Still here…

But I don’t know why.

© 2026 Thomas Bruggemann, Heartfelt Lyrics