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Lyrics
[Verse 1]
Twenty-four with a duffel on my knee
Red maple stitched above the sleeve
My mother counted every breath
While I learned the weight of what came next
Dust found its way inside my boots
Letters home said less than truth
We joked beside the armored door
Then the morning asked us for much more
[Pre-Chorus]
I still remember someone calling out my name
Before the smoke erased the road and changed the shape of everything
[Chorus]
I came back carrying faces I could never leave behind
A war that followed quietly and slept beside my mind
I did what I was trained to do, then lost the man I was
Now every ordinary day feels harder than it should
But I am here, still here
Learning how to live with what I’ve seen
[Verse 2]
There was a photograph folded in my vest
A buddy smiling, arm across my chest
We shared warm tea from a dented tin
He said, “When this is over, let’s begin”
The radio cracked, the world went white
His name became a candle every night
I carried home the silence and the blame
And kept on answering when no one came
[Pre-Chorus]
The supermarket aisle can turn into a street
A car door slams, my heart forgets the difference underneath
[Chorus]
I came back carrying faces I could never leave behind
A war that followed quietly and slept beside my mind
I did what I was trained to do, then lost the man I was
Now every ordinary day feels harder than it should
But I am here, still here
Learning how to live with what I’ve seen
[Bridge]
Some nights I wake before the dream is done
Hands clenched tight, reaching for a loaded gun
Then morning puts a coffee cup beside my hand
And someone says, “You made it through again”
I don’t need to be untouched to call this life
I don’t need to hide the battle in my eyes
If I can speak their names and stay
Maybe survival is a form of praise
[Final Chorus]
I came back carrying faces I will always hold with care
Not every wound is visible, but I am meeting it there
I did what I was trained to do, and mourn the things it cost
I’m finding small and stubborn roads through everything I lost
And I am here, still here
Breathing through the hardest parts of me
I am here, still here
Making room for peace to finally be
[Outro]
Twenty-four feels like another life
The maple thread is faded, but it’s mine
I say their names into the morning air
Then take one more step, and leave it there
Details
GeneratedSep 14, 2026
Duration5:13
LanguageEnglish
Style
cinematic alternative rock ballad, restrained verses with fingerpicked electric guitar and low piano, gradual lift into wide distorted guitars and live drums, post-rock dynamics, intimate weathered male baritone vocal, clean vocal-forward mix, final chorus opens into hard-won hope without sounding triumphant
Credits
Prompt by
SoldiersGrim
SoldiersGrimModelAria v6
Prompt
My time in the Canadian Armed Forces. Going to war in Afghanistan at the age of 24. Seeing friends die. Killing enemy, coming home with PTSD. Now a veteran trying to survive a normal life
