Heading home to San Diego They could almost see the dock The USS Abe Lincoln Was returning from Iraq They were thinking of their loved ones They were thinking of a home Of the many sad and lonely nights On the battlefront alone He stepped out on the flight deck In a fighter pilot's suit You know, dress up can be fun And make believe is cute But I wonder what they wondered As they surveyed the scene After what they'd been through After what they'd seen Chorus Life is hard, times are tough When the going gets too rough And the truth's not good enough Let's pretend, let's pretend, let's pretend Let's pretend I fly an airplane Let's pretend I fought in war Let's pretend I wasn't AWOL For sixteen months or more Let's pretend I know exactly What you folks are going through Let's pretend that everything I say Is absolutely true Chorus Let's pretend Iraq is grateful Let's pretend they waved and cheered Let's pretend the whole damn thing Isn't getting too damn weird Let's pretend that we found weapons Let's pretend we caught Saddam Let's pretend this doesn't feel A bit like Viet Nam Chorus Let's pretend affirmative action Had nothing to do with me and Yale And the fact that despite three arrests I never went to jail Three strikes and you're out Is for losers and for jerks For guys who have to fight in wars For guys who have to work Chorus