Get the laundry off the line   Tape the cracks in the windows   Lock the doors shut the lights   Stamp out all the mirrors      This is gonna hurt   This is gonna hurt      Count the gauze and the dressings   On the antiseptic shelves   Clean the muskets and the bayonets   In the arsenal      CHORUS      “The missing gives it meaning” you whispered at my neck   You kissed me for the first time right before you left   I stood there with my eyes closed praying for your safe return   What I wish now that I’d done is beg you not to join      Feel the wind direction change   The darkening is nearing   Electricity is creeping   With a pinprick and a tearing      CHORUS      The telegram they brought today was brief and featherweight   It said you died a soldier with a brave and quiet grace   The war it rages closer I’ll prepare for the storm   For the coming midnight battles, for all l that I will mourn      My wounds will itch and open   They will scar in the air   It’s the love that will linger   Like your scent in my hair      CHORUS