The Hell Just Beyond: the ballad of Rowdy Sloan

A man sure walks slow, might each step be ya last,

It can steal the mind quickly, and harden ya heart

You yearn for your family, and you long for your wife

And all you are missing, from a wonderful life

But out here I’m a soldier, and a long way from home

And I gave up those comforts, a long time ago

Out here in the dirt, and the heat and the dry

There’s no time for nostalgia, lest it bluntens your mind

Just then I looked round, and I caught Rowdy’s eyes

It snapped me back quickly, as he raised up his sights

And he squeezed off some rounds, from behind a mud wall

As I dived to my guts, and I started to crawl

I’ve tried to forget, how I’ve tried

But I’ll never forget, how the fear stole my mind

The cornfields erupted, shit scared with self-doubt

My throat was bone dry, and me heart filled me mouth

As the shots cracked around us, I remember the high

But it wasn’t excitement, I was just terrified

The steel tore through clothing, mud walls, trees, and flesh

As I emptied a mag, towards nothing at best

And as I crawled forward, and looked through me sights

I turned and saw Rowdy, give a wink and a smile

He shouted “with me”, as he sprung to his feet

With his gun up and firing, out into the green

And the dirt all around him, like rain on a pond

As he made his way into, the hell just beyond

I’ve tried to forget, how I’ve tried

But it’s hard to forget, such a beautiful sight

We got up and followed, through machine-guns and cries

I remember the dust, how the grit cut my eyes

How we battled and fought, through the streets, maize and mud

And when I reached Rowdy, all covered in blood

I crawled up beside him, and lay by his side

Not sure it was sweat, or tears stinging his eyes

He grabbed for my hand, and he winced through a smile

As the din all around him, fell silent and quiet

I’ve tried to forget, how I’ve tried

But I’ll never forget, the day Rowdy died

The bird dusted off, me best mate in a bag

As I licked at a rolly, and we passed round a drag

We picked up and moved, exhausted and beat

We were dreaming awake, and walking asleep

As I sat with a beer, looking over the dasht

I drank and pondered, the shit day we had had

But nothing like Rowdy’s, so I raised up me glass

And I whispered to old mate, it was over too fast

And I’ve tried to forget, but never the time

How me best mate Rowdy, put his life on the line