This is the Price of Commanding--

That you always stand alone,
Letting no one near
To see the fear
Behind the mask you've grown.
This is the Price of Commanding.

This is the Price of Commanding--
That you watch your dearest die,
Sending women and men To fight again
And never tell them why.
This is the Price of Commanding.

This is the Price of Commanding.
That mistakes are signed in red--
And that you won't pay
But others may
And your best may wind up dead
This is the Price of Commanding.

This is the Price of Commanding--
The deaths that mark your sleep
And you hope they forgive
And so you live
With your memories buried deep.
This is the Price of Commanding.

This is the Price of Commanding--
That if you won't, others will.
So you take your post,
Salute each ghost---
You've a debt to them to fill.
This is the Price of Commanding.