Cadence:
   I don't know why I left (I don't know why I left)
   But I know it won't be long (But I know it won't be long)
   No it won't be long (No it won't be long)
   Till I get back home
  
   They gave me a green uniform and black boots for my feel
   Eighteen and wild as hell, I thought it would be neat
   They put me on a plane to some strange and foreign land
   I said my good-bye to mom and dad and hello to Uncle Sam
  
   Once I was a soldier and not afraid to die
   Now I'm a little older and not afraid to cry
   Everyday I'm thankful just to be alive
   When you've been where I've been any kind of life
   Is paradise
  
   Christmas of eighty-nine was a lonely time for me
   Panama was probably fine but it was nothing like Tennessee
   I never thought the day would come when I might have to kill a man
   I did not sleep a wink that night but we won for Uncle Sam
  
   Once I was a soldier and not afraid to die
   Now I'm a little older and not afraid to cry
   Everyday I'm thankful just to be alive
   When you've been where I've been any kind of life
   Is paradise
  
   If you've been where I've been any kind of life
   Is paradise
  
   It's paradise
   Paradise