They said, “Raise your flags, let the cannons sing”

“Paint the skies with fire, crown the chaos king”

We marched in time, boots on broken glass

Hearts full of thunder, drunk on the past

Oh, how they cheered for the glory and the guns

Told us war was holy, told us we’d won

So give war a chance let the silence break

Let the mothers cry for their children’s sake

Let the fields burn gold, let the rivers run red to show us what peace meant instead

Give war a chance let the banners wave

Let the young be brave, then dig their grave

Let the speeches roar, let the silence spread

Give war a chance to count the living with the dead

They sold us pride in a soldier’s grin

But never showed the ghosts crawling under skin

We kissed the medals, we buried the names

And whispered prayers that all sounded the same

They said, “This is justice, this is the price”

But no one counts the cost in shattered lives

So give war a chance let the trumpets cry

Let the poets bleed ink just to ask why

Let the children draw tanks in their schoolyard dread

Give war a chance to teach us what peace never said

Give war a chance let the fathers lie

Let the children learn how to say goodbye

Let the medals rust, let the glory fade

Give war a chance to show us what peace could’ve made

It’s not the bombs that break us

It’s the silence after sound

It’s the echo of the empty

When no one’s left around

So give war a chance let it scream and dance

Let it show its teeth in a final stance

Then maybe we’ll learn, when the last shot’s fired

That peace was the only thing we ever desired

Give war a chance let it burn and blind

Let it tear through hope, leave none behind

Then maybe we’ll see, when the last breath’s gone

We gave war a chance... But peace was the better song