Lyrics to
The Patriot’s Dream

This version of The Patriot’S Dream was released by Gordon Lightfoot in 1972.

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The songs of the wars are as old as the hills
They cling like the rust on the cold steel that kills
They tell of the boys who went down to the tracks
In a patriotic manner with the cold steel on their backs

The patriot’s dream is as old as the sky
It lives in the lust of a cold callous lie
Let’s drink to the men who got caught by the chill
Of the patriotic fever and the cold steel that kills

The train pulled away on that glorious night
The drummer got drunk and the bugler got tight
While the boys in the back sang a song of good cheer
While riding off to glory in the spring of their years

The patriot’s dream still lives on today
It makes mothers weep and it makes lovers pray
Let’s drink to the men who got caught by the chill
Of the patriotic fever and the cold steel that kills

Well there was a sad, sad lady, weeping all night long
She received a sad, sad message from a voice on the telephone
Her children were all sleeping as she waited out the dawn
How could she tell those children that their father was shot down
So she took them to her side that day and she told them one by one
Your father was a good man ten thousand miles from home
He tried to do his duty and it took him straight to hell
He might be in some prison, I hope he’s treated well

Well there was a young girl watching in the early afternoon
When she heard the name of someone who said he’d be home soon
And she wondered how they got him, but the papers did not tell
There would be no sweet reunion, there would be no wedding bells
So she took herself into her room and she turned the bed sheets down
And she cried into the silken folds of her new wedding gown
He tried to do his duty and it took him straight to hell
He might be in some prison, I hope he’s treated well

Well there was an old man sitting in his mansion on the hill
And he thought of his good fortune and the time he’d yet o kill
Well he called to his wife one day, “Come sit with me awhile”
Then turning toward the sunset, he smiled a wicked smile
“Well I’d like to say I’m sorry for the sinful deeds I’ve done
But let me first remind you, I’m a patriotic son”
They tried to do their duty and it took ’em straight to hell
They might be in some prison, I hope they’re treated well

The songs of the wars are as old as the hills
They cling like the rust on the cold steel that kills
They tell of the boys who went down to the tracks
In a patriotic manner with the cold steel on their backs

The train pulled away on that glorious night
The drummer got drunk and the bugler got tight
While the boys in the back sang a song of good cheer
While riding off to glory in the spring of their years

The patriot’s dream still lives on today
It makes mothers weep and it makes lovers pray
Let’s drink to the men who got caught by the chill
Of the patriotic fever and the cold steel that kills

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Gordon Lightfoot has released many songs over the years besides The Patriot’S Dream. Gordon Lightfoot released songs from 1966 to 2004 spanning across albums like Lightfoot!, The Way I Feel, Back Here On Earth, Did She Mention My Name, Sunday Concert, Sit Down Young Stranger / If You Could Read My Mind, Summer Side Of Life, Don Quixote, Old Dan's Records, Sundown, Cold On The Shoulder, Summertime Dream, Endless Wire, Dream Street Rose, Shadows, Salute, East Of Midnight, Waiting For You, A Painter Passing Through, and Harmony. Decade Lyrics has over lyrics & songs by Gordon Lightfoot.

If you're a fan of 1970s songs looking for more songs from 1972 or the 1970s overall, you've come to the right place!

About Lyrics and The Patriot’S Dream by Gordon Lightfoot

The lyrics to The Patriot’S Dream are just the words, phrases, verses and chorus that Gordon Lightfoot used when the song was created in 1972. The lyrics to The Patriot’S Dream have both easy-to-spot meanings and hidden metaphors that have been discussed by the music press and fans, but only Gordon Lightfoot and any collaborators know all of the inspirations for the song.

If you like etymology or breaking apart phrases and words, it is easy to understand the lyrics to The Patriot’S Dream by Gordon Lightfoot. The word "lyric" itself derives from the Latin word lyricus, with the actual English word lyrics applied to the definition "words set to music" listed in Stainer and Barrett's 1876 Dictionary of Musical Terms. Continuing the chain, the Latin word lyricus derives from the Greek word λυρικός or lyrikós. This somewhat means "poetry accompanied by the lyre" or "words set to music." You can easily see that by looking at the background of the word lyric, that the "lyrics to The Patriot’S Dream" means the words set to the music of The Patriot’S Dream, or poetry accompanied by the lyre played by Gordon Lightfoot. The singular form "lyric" is still used to mean the complete words to a song. However, the singular form lyric is also commonly used to refer to a specific line (or phrase) within a song's lyrics. Hence, by this analysis of word structure, you could say that the lyric to The Patriot’S Dream and the lyrics to The Patriot’S Dream are both one and the same thing. None of this talk about the word Lyrics is really relevant to fans of Gordon Lightfoot who came here looking just for the lyrics to The Patriot’S Dream, but we feel it is still fun to learn what's behind commonly used words and lyrics in songs.

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