Two days past eighteen
He was waiting for the bus in his army green
Sat down in a booth in a café there
Gave his order to a girl with a bow in her hair

He's a little shy, so she give him a smile
And he said, "Would you mind sittin' down for a while
And talkin' to me, I'm feeling a little low?"
She said, "I'm off in an hour, and I know where we can go"

So they went down, and they sat on the pier
He said, "I bet you got a boyfriend, but I don't care
I've got no one to send a letter to
Would you mind if I sent one back here to you?"

I cried
Never gonna hold the hand of another guy
Too young for him they told her
Waitin' for the love of a travelin' soldier

Our love will never end
Waitin' for the soldier to come back again
Never more to be alone when the letter said
"A soldier's coming home"

So the letters came from an army camp
In California then Vietnam
And he told her of his heart
It might be love, and all of the things he was so scared of

He said, "When it's gettin' kinda rough over here
I think of that day sittin' down at the pier
And I close my eyes and see your pretty smile
Don't worry, but I won't be able to write for awhile"

I cried
Never gonna hold the hand of another guy
Too young for him they told her
Waitin' for the love of a travelin' soldier

Our love will never end
Waitin' for the soldier to come back again
Never more to be alone when the letter said
"A soldier's coming home"

One Friday night at a football game
The Lord's Prayer said, and the anthem sang
A man said, "Folks, would you bow your heads
For a list of local Vietnam dead"

Crying all alone under the stands
Was a piccolo player in the marching band
And one name read, and nobody really cared
But a pretty little girl with a bow in her hair

I cried
Never gonna hold the hand of another guy
Too young for him they told her
Waitin' for the love of a travelin' soldier

Our love will never end
Waitin' for the soldier to come back again
Never more to be alone when the letter says
"A soldier's coming"

I cried
Never gonna hold the hand of another guy
Too young for him they told her
Waitin' for the love of a travelin' soldier

Our love will never end
Waitin' for the soldier to come back again
Never more to be alone when the letters says
"A soldier's coming home"