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God bless the men who've learned to put their lives upon the line,
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And God bless the men who've learned to sip the sacrifical wine,
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God bless the men who'll murder in th service of the lord;
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Blessings from the chaplain of the war.

Give thanks to the parents who taught them as a boy they must obey
Give thanks to the church who taught them how to pose and how to pray
Give thanks to the schools who taught them well what they are fighting for
Blessings from the chaplain of the war.

I know it will be hard, your finger on the trigger might refrain
But someone's dealt the cards and the Bible says you're clearly not to blame
Just think about the past, all the christian guns who've carried on before
With the blessings of the chaplain of the war.

The enemy is godless, the holy way is one they never knew
Forgive them as you kill them, believe me, they know not what they do
And the prisoners you take, you can try to lead them to the christian shore
Now blessings from the chaplain of the war.

Now you may find it strange that a man of peace is asking you to fight
But the church is known to change, embracing half the wrongs it hopes to right
I can't describe the times, I've wrestled with my conscience to the core
Now blessings from the chaplain of the war.

If the worst comes to be and you crumble in the misty cloud of pain
I'll fall down to my knees and beg for every mercy on your name
And your soul will be safe for heaven knows the burdens that you bore
With the blessings from the chaplain of the war.

When you go for broke and the taking of a life may leave you lost
Rising from the smoke is the all-inspiring vision of the cross
Sending you the strength to show you that you can struggle more
With the blessings from the chaplain of the war.

The commandments are torn we'll teach them when the victory fire glows
Now my collar is worn just above my military clothes
The religion of the flag, the servant of the saviour and the sword
Now blessings from the chaplain of the war.

1966 /pre>

• All My Heroes Are Dead
• As I Walk Alone
• Ballad of The Cuban Invasion
• Bwatue
• Chaplain of The War
• Davey Moore
• Doesn't Lenny Live Here Anymore
• Encores
• Fallen Star
• Fifty Mile Hike
• Firehouse 35
• First Snow
• Freedom Riders
• Green Hills
• Hands
• Here's to The State of Richard Nixon
• How High's The Watergate
• How Long
• Hunger & Cold
• I Dreamed I Saw Phil Ochs Last Night
• I Like Hitler
• It's Been a Long, Long Story
• Just One of Those Days
• Kansas City Bomber
• Keep The Change
• Legends
• Love is a Rainbow
• Maintaining Law & Order
• Monroe Town
• Morning
• My Life
• Never Again
• New Town
• Niko Mchumba Ngombe
• On Her Hand a Golden Ring
• Phil
• Phil Ochs
• Phil Ochs, Bob Dylan, Steve Goodman, David Blue & Me
• Pretty Smart on My Part
• Rehearsals for Retirement
• Sailors & Soldiers
• Sing Along With Me
• Take It Out of My Youth
• Talking Plane Disaster
• The Ballad of John Train
• The Ballad of Sonny Liston
• The Confession
• The Day
• The Parade's Still Passing By
• The Sad & Silent Song of a Soldier
• The Shoals of Herring
• Thirsty Boots
• This Old World is Changing Hands
• United Fruit
• Viet Nam
• We Seek No Wider War
• What Are You Fighting For
• When First Unto This Country
• Where There's a Will There's a Way
• Where Were You in Chicago?
• You Can't Get Stoned Enough
• You Should Have Been Down in Mississppi