When your girlfriend asks you 'round to her house and you meet her folks And they say that your hair's too long and you're not their kind of bloke They grab you by the collar and they throw you through the door: You don't have to be in the army to fight in the war You're working very hard to get promotion in your job But arrive late on morning just because you missed the bus The foreman say "you're fired, 'cause your punctuality's poor" You don't have to be in the army to fight in the war Then you go into a hotel to get put up for the night And they say that you can't stay there just because your shirt ain't white You're tired and you hungry, you cannot walk no more You don't have to be in the army to fight in the war Ain't no money, ain't no woman ain't no roof above your head So you lay down in the park and you wish that you were dead The fuzz* say that you are trespassing and they kick you in the jaw You don't have to be in the army to fight in the war You don't have to be in the army to fight in the war You don't have to be in the army to fight in the war You don't have to be in the army to fight in the war You don't have to be in the army to fight in the war You don't have to be in the army to fight in the war