Lately
Soul Asylum Lyrics

In the fog lights
Amidst the hazy fog of the night's darkness

There was tear gas floating through the twilight
The air was heavy with the acrid stench of tear gas, blending with the last of the day's light

And he wondered what life would be like
He pondered about the life he may have had, had he not been where he was then

With a giant screen TV, a fridge full of beer
With materialistic pleasures such as having a large television and ample amounts of beer

And a conscience that's clean
With a clear and unburdened conscience

See lately
Recently, as of late

She'd been thinking about her little tiny baby
She was consumed by thoughts about her small child

And the boy who had gone to defend me
Her significant other who had gone to safeguard his country

She's a good friend of mine
She is a cherished and close acquaintance

But I can't take the place of her man anytime
However, I am not a sufficient substitute for her beloved partner

And it won't be long till he's coming home
It will only be a matter of time until he returns home

You gotta bring your soldier home
It is essential to bring the soldier back home

When all those stones have all been thrown
Once all the hardships and difficulties have been confronted

Gotta give, get a chance to get a look at his kid
He must be given a chance to see his own child

And hope he can live with whatever he did
One must trust that he can come to terms with his actions

Now meanwhile
In the meantime, concurrently

He was reading magazines on the front line
He was attempting to distract himself by perusing some news periodicals while on the battlefield's forefront

He was trying not to think about her life
He was struggling to avoid dwelling on her present situation

And what he might have done
Furthermore, he was preoccupied with the actions he had executed

'Cause it seemed like neither one of them
Because it appeared that both he and her were unable to derive any pleasure

Were having any fun
From their current situation and predicament

She'd been acting kinda crazy lately
Recently, she had displayed somewhat erratic behavior

Oh man, I thought she was gonna hate me
I feared that she may direct her ire towards me

'Cause I couldn't watch her little one
As I was overburdened, I could not look after her child

I had so much to do, I was so high strung
My anxiety was peaking as I was overwhelmingly occupied with many tasks

And lately all the hate escapes me
Recently, I find myself emerging from the cloud of animosity and ill-feelings

So he phoned her
Therefore, he communicated with her via phone

He said, 'Darling, I've been feeling so alone here
He approached her with a term of affection and informed her of loneliness he was feeling

Am I making myself perfectly clear
He sought to reaffirm that his message was crystal-clear

And I'm on my way back just a couple more missions
He notified her that he would return soon, as only a few more missions remained

And I start getting packed'
He would commence packing his belongings in preparation for his return home

Lately I was wondering if she heard from him lately
Recently, he was curious if she had corresponded with her significant other