My Wife she’ll never realize
Just what I have been through
For what I did endure
For what I’ve had to do

Now I’m back in civvies street
The fears should drift away
But simple things that happen
Bring instincts back to play

Walking past an alley
An itching in my feet
Thoughts of meetings long ago
Another secret meet

Sitting in a public House
A normal thing to do
A fear of being trapped there
Known only to a few

A car ride with the kids
Is all that I desire
A back-fire in the distance
Another gun for hire ?

I meet a total stranger
In conversation mode
They do not understand me
I talk to them in code

On Guy-Fawkes night it’s fireworks
Bang-Bang, into the night
Brings back thoughts of Ireland
It fills my heart with fright

Sometimes my hands tremble
When opening a letter
My friend that lost a hand
He should’ve known better

In crowds I’m claustrophobic
From riots long ago
And crowded pubs I used to love
No longer I will go

My instinct was survival
Each job I had to do
It’s hard to break the habit
And start your life anew

So maybe if you see me
Alert, and so aware
You’ll understand the way it was
Working over there

Forgive me if I’m edgy
And hug you when we meet
I’m frisking you for weapons
As we stand there in the street

How many years I’ll be like this
No-one really knows
It’s all about survival
Hitting highs and lows

The aftershock affects us all
In many different ways
I keep mine locked inside myself
Through nights and longer days

Until they find a cure
I’ll wander throughout life
Helped along by no-one
Except my caring Wife

She’ll stand along beside me
Not ask what I’ve been through
She’ll never understand me
But there again, Do you ?