Tora Bora, Afghanistan, Sept. 10, 2005

They climbed up above the rocks
Ditching the sergeant
Looking to cop
From the bearded guy
Seven months into a tour
You worry mostly
About staying alive in the 'Stan
And right after that
Staying stoned enough to feel
It doesn't really matter

You sometimes found one of your men
Dead with a spike in his arm
If you liked him
You put a bullet in his body
And told his family he died in combat

The bearded guy said
There's always more where
That came from
The money goes through Arlington
After I take my cut
Do up the set up
Keeping those secrets
Only from the people

There are flowers here
Poppies in these hills
Even fundamentalists
Gotta earn a living

Same shit
Different day
Same policy
Different man
Mubotu
Somoza
Noriega
Duvalier
D'Aubisson
Pinochet
Barry Seal is dead
But his job lives on

You have come to like the helicopter flights over these places
You have come to savor the power your dollar has to these desperate people
You feel like a rock star here, like Mick Jagger in a helmet

When they hear the speakers on your jeep
When they hear the Rolling Stones blaring
They all turn in your direction, frowning, smiling, bearded, shorn

Bigger speakers. Uncle Sam

Taliban kiss my ass
This is the land of smack