You can field your big army
Ostensibly one of might
But when it's made of conscripts
Does it have the stomach to fight.
You can take a man away
From his mother or his wife
But do you really expect him
To seriously risk his life.
Underpaid and unwilling
An army without a cause
At the whim of politicians
To fight politicians' wars.
You can take your conscript army
And invade a peaceful land
As your invasion stalls and halts
Will the politician understand
Conscripts fight under duress
In somebody else's wars
The patriot fights wholeheartedly
In defence of his cause.
In the ruined cities people starve
Held hostage to your will
With defiance in their hearts
Unbowed and undefeated still.
You can bomb and bombard
Use any method of killing you chose
And maybe claim a victory but
In the eyes of the world you lose.
And your conscript army occupies
A devastated land never knowing when
The flames of patriotism are fanned
And the country rise again.
Any explanations you may have felt
Could justify your cause
Have been well and truly erased by
The acts and conduct of your wars.
