Abu Ghraib

I turned 18 September '01

Graduated the next May

What with all the flag waving

And no money in savings

I decided to join the Army

But my brother said be careful little sister

It's not like what they show you in the pictures

They say 'be all you can be,' but it seems to me

They'll turn you into what they want you to be

I got shipped out October '03

They sent me over to Kuwait

The day I arrived some guy looked me in the eye

And said, aw shit, another chick

Who can't pull her own weight

He said you better look out little sister

This is nothing like what you've seen in the pictures

They talk about smart bombs and civilian rights

But it don't mean shit when you're getting shot at

In the middle of the night

But I remembered what my Sergeant back in Basic said

He said, war will show you what you're made of

When you go head to head with evil and death

That's when you find out what you're capable of

I ended up in Abu Ghraib

After the war was supposedly over

You had to be tough with those Iraqi thugs

You had to be tough with your fellow soldiers

Now I don't know what to tell you mister

You can see for yourself in the pictures

You ask me if I've got anything to say

Well, no, sir, I was trained to listen and obey

And I don't know what to tell you mom and dad

I'm still the same girl you had

But I guess Sarge was right, this war has shown

Things about me I'd never known