This is about a returning veteran trying to retrofit himself into the life and community he knew before being deployed. This is not about me. I have no personal experience with this but I have had exposure to people who lived it. Of them, this story is an accurate account of one young man I met.
The title's meaning is only revealed at the close of the song when "...The Man" is what is left after his spirit for life is gone, which is the price of war.
Short phrases are intentional as they mimic the manner in which this particular veteran spoke. After a short time home with his parents he rejoined the service so he could be deployed again.
I have a draft of the song I'm currently working. It requires some reduction of melody, which is currently unnecessarily absorbed with itself, to bring the song into balance.
Behold The Man
One day left
Going home
Tryin' to leave
The beast behind
Look around
What to take
A couple bags
Of countless souls
Think about
what they know
If they pry
It's easier to stay
A little girl
A sister's love
Her brother's gone
And I'm all that's left
Mother knows
Killers eyes
Her soldier son
A father's pride
Tryin' to fit
Find a job
Make it work
Oh I've got to try
Meaningless
Days and nights
Tryin' to feel
Feel when I was alive
Trembling hands
Searching eyes
Living a lie
Fighting what's inside
And giving up
Moving out
Better alone
Hiding why I hide
Mother knows
Killer's eyes
Her soldier son
A father's pride
One day left
Going back
The child is gone
Behold the man
Sad, of course. I feel frustration. A longing for the innocence of his former life.
I really like this, and reading the intro makes complete sence of it. The reveal at the end is great too. Nice storytelling, but I do fear for the future of the soldier.