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Born on the Fourth of July Lyrics by Tom Paxton

New Songs From the Briarpatch

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As a schoolboy I played with a plastic grenade
It was gray and with caps it was loaded
In the dirt we would cry and dramatically die
As it flew to the air and exploded
As a young man my dream was to be a marine
My flag was worth all I could bring it
The country was young, when the anthem was sung
Well it gave me the goosebumps to sing it
I was born on the fourth of July
No one more loyal than I
When my country said so I was ready to go
And I wish I'd been left there to die
When I landed in 'Nam, I was Great Uncle Sam
I was fighting for God and my mother
And I knew what to do when my first tour was through
I signed up and went back for another
But it all tumbled down when we ambushed the town
In the night how the metal was flying
We blew it to hell, really did our job well
But just women and kids did the dying
I was born on the fourth of July
No one more loyal than I
When my country said so I was ready to go
And I wish I'd been left there to die
In the damn DMZ, it all ended for me
The fighting broke out and we scattered
One shot hit my heel, the last thing I feel
The next hit my spine and it shattered
In my hospital bed I could hear what was said
And the word will stay with me forever
With my whole life ahead, my body was dead
And the word they were using was never
I was born on the fourth of July
No one more loyal than I
When my country said so I was ready to go
And I wish I'd been left there to die
Now I wheel myself down to the crossroads of town
To watch the young girls and their lovers
And my mind is afire, it's alive with desire
Christ, I'd barely begun, now it's over
In my wheelchair for life, my mechanical wife
I'm supposed to be cheerful and stoic
I'm your old tried-and-true, Yankee Doodle to you
Clean-cut, paralysed and heroic
I was born on the fourth of July
No one more loyal than I
When my country said so I was ready to go
And I wish I'd been left there to die
Credits
Tom Paxton

Tom Paxton

About “Born on the Fourth of July” by Tom Paxton

Read the complete lyrics to "Born on the Fourth of July" by Tom Paxton from the album "New Songs From the Briarpatch". On Lyrks you can follow along with the full text, explore the artist's discography, and discover related songs. The track is often categorized under Pop.

"Born on the Fourth of July" is performed by Tom Paxton. from the album "New Songs From the Briarpatch" This page provides the full lyric text for fans who want to sing along, study the songwriting, or compare versions across releases. Lyrks organizes lyrics by artist and song slug so you can bookmark and share a stable URL. Music lyrics help listeners connect with emotion, narrative, and rhythm in a track. Whether you are learning English, researching a favorite chorus, or preparing for karaoke, having accurate line breaks and section labels (verse, chorus, bridge) makes the experience easier. We link to the official artist profile on Lyrks where available, including biography snippets, top songs, and chart placements when we have that data. If you enjoy "Born on the Fourth of July", explore more songs by Tom Paxton using the links below. Chart and trending pages on Lyrks highlight what listeners are searching for this week. For copyright or correction requests, see our DMCA and contact pages.

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Frequently asked questions

"Born on the Fourth of July" is credited to Tom Paxton. Songwriting credits may include additional writers listed on the release; check the credits section on this page for linked collaborators.

"Born on the Fourth of July" appears on "New Songs From the Briarpatch".

Visit the Tom Paxton artist page at /artist/tom-paxton for biography, popular tracks, and links to more lyric pages.