Gloves Video (MV)

When I was a child
I never thought I'd live in your shadow
This weary battle
Every time you smiled
I saw a peaceful man stuck debating
Was it worth the hating
So I looked you up in the record books
For the saddened scars and the angry looks
You wouldn't believe how much time it took
Your iodine in a memory
And I found what I could prove of you
That you'd had a government issue too
I guess that's just what Americans do
In such a violent country

And if I sang for peacetime
Your gloves, would they finally fall
And if I bring you limericks pretty enough
Would my name be worthy of the wall
My time at this funeral
Is too many blows to take
Your spirit in this coward
Is too much of a fighter to break

I know there's a reason
You couldn't stick around to explain the why
You had to die
Without ever bequeathing
That Irish jab to your daughter's son
Not even for fun
So I walk around with a chip and a wince
Praying I'll convince every tough guy since
In the prison yards and the county jail stints
That you really love me
And I hook at the helpless and I counter the weak
I'm a broke prize fighter at his all time peak
All for lack of being taught good technique
Against a school-yard bully

And if I sang for peacetime
Your gloves, would they finally fall
And if I bring you limericks pretty enough
Would my name be worthy of the wall
My time at this funeral
Is too many blows to take
Your spirit in this coward
Is never a fighter to make