G

  G                        C               G
A grey silver casket rolls off of the air- plane
                              D               G
The Stars and the Stripes are draped over the lid
    G                   C          G
In- side is the body of our little brother
     G                       D           G
They say he's a soldier, but he's just a kid

      G                         C           G
Well, we're here to take him to Harlan Ken- tucky
      G                    D          G
Where he will be buried in our family plot
   G                         C           G
We think of that day when he went in the army
    G                     D               G
Ex- pecting a much better job than he got

[Chorus]
C                  G           D                          G
He'll be a hero in Harlan like all the young soldiers be- fore
C                         G            Em      G            D         G
He's not the first and he won't be the last to lay down his life in a war

      G                           C         G
Some- where in the records, he'll just be a number
    G                     D       G
An- other young man lyin' under a sheet
      G                       C         G
We're takin' him home to rest high on a hillside
    G                  D           G
And he'll be a hero in Harlan this week

[Chorus]
C                  G           D                          G
He'll be a hero in Harlan like all the young soldiers be- fore
C                         G            Em      G            D         G
He's not the first and he won't be the last to lay down his life in a war

[Instrumental]
A A A

    A                        D           A
Now world is a big place and maybe needs saving
    A                      E         A
But what can a country boy do with a gun
   A                       D                 A
He used to win teddy bears down at the fair- grounds
     A                   E            A
When livin' was easy and shootin' was fun

           A                         D               A
Well, they fold up the Stars and the Stripes for his mother
    A                         E            A
And gently they trade her the flag for her son
        A                     D             A
Well, a harder exchange never took place in Harlan
    A                             E         A
But it's not the first time, it's ever been done

[Chorus]
D                  A           E                          A
He'll be a hero in Harlan like all the young soldiers be- fore
D                         A            F#m     A            E         A
He's not the first and he won't be the last to lay down his life in a war

[Outro]
    D                  A
And he'll be a hero in Harlan