We Seek No Wider War lyrics

[Intro]
This is a new song about Vietnam called "We Seek No Wider War"

[Verse 1]
Over the ashes of blood marched the civilized soldier
Over the ruins of the French fortress of a failure
Over the silent screams of the dead and the dying

[Refrain]
But please be reassured, we seek no wider war

[Verse 2]
The treaties were signed, the country was split into sections
But growing numbers of prisons were built for protection
Rapidly filling with people who called for elections

[Refrain]
But please be reassured, we seek no wider war

[Verse 3]
Ngo Dinh Diem was the puppet who danced for the power
The hero of hate who gambled on hell for his hour
Father of his country was stamped on the medals we showered

[Refrain]
But please be reassured, we seek no wider war
[Verse 4]
Machine gun bullets became the bloody baptizer
And the falcon copters don't care if someone's the wiser
But the boy in the swamp didn't know he was killed by advisors

[Refrain]
So please be reassured, we seek no wider war

[Verse 5]
And fires were spitting at forests in defoliation
While the people were pressed into camps not called concentration
But— and the greater the victory, the greater the shame of the nation

[Refrain]
But please be reassured, we seek no wider war

[Verse 6]
Down the throats of prisoners was poured rusty water
While vicious and vomiting gasses maintained the order
As the finest Washington minds found slogans for slaughter

[Refrain]
But please be reassured, we seek no wider war

[Verse 7]
Then over the border came the Bay of Pigs planes of persuasion
All remaining honor went up in the flames of invasion
But who'll tell the bodies of children it's not escalation?
[Refrain]
But please be reassured, we seek no wider war

[Verse 8]
We're teaching the people the freedom for which they are yearning
While we're dragging them down to the path of never returning
But we'll condescend to talk while the cities are burning

[Refrain]
But please be reassured, we seek no wider war
We seek no wider war