Welcome Home Songtext
von Eric Bogle

When the boys came home, Annie cried and Annie cheered
She′d been on her own for a long and lonely year
Living for his letters from far away Vietnam
And dreading the official telegram
She was waiting at the station when his train came rolling in
She ached with anticipation of holding him again
And suddenly he was standing there in his crumpled uniform
In a heartbeat she was in his arms

Welcome home, boys, welcome home
Don't you know you′ve been gone too long?
Did you wonder, over there, when you were tired, when you were scared
If your country really cared? Welcome home


When a nation goes to war everyone's a casualty
Some are maimed and scarred, most have wounds you cannot see
So in place of the man that she had known, Annie found instead
A sick and troubled stranger in her bed
But she was stubborn, she was lovin'
, So she stayed all through the years
The hard times and the drinking, the nightmares and the tears
Where hate is muddy quicksand, love is tempered steel
Annie waited for his wounds to heal

Welcome home, boys, welcome home
Don′t you know you′ve been gone too long?
We're just so glad that you survived, and only you will wonder why
You lived when others died, welcome home

On a sunny Sydney morning I heard old war drums beat
And watched the boys come marching down the city streets
To claim the place in the nation′s heart
That their blood and pain had earned
A nation rejoiced in their return
If that day helped to heal some wounds is a matter of debate
For some it had come none too soon, for others far too late
But I found myself hoping, as the boys went marching past
That for them the war was over at last

Welcome home, boys, welcome home
Don't you know you′ve been gone too long?
What you went through in Vietnam we can't begin to understand
But to each and every man, welcome home


Welcome home, boys, welcome home
Don′t you know you've been gone too long?
May the years bring you release as the memories decrease
May you find some kind of peace, welcome home

Welcome home, boys, welcome home
Don't you know you′ve been gone too long?
May the years bring you release as the memories decrease
May you find some kind of peace, welcome home