They say it's going to make you crazy
It blows like a mother from the east
And the wild fires spread a wild fire
They say its got the soul of a beast
And when the winter comes you brace yourself
You never get the chill from your feet
And the nights are longer than the knives of the wide boys
Hanging on the corner of the street

And dignity is hard to find
And harder to hang on to
And hope is just a state of mind you're in
And helpless is the way you feel
Facing hell and cold sharp steel
And heartless are the streets they call your home
The night Harry J went to war

Harry seemed no different
From any other man on the street
Softly spoken unassuming
Quiet and discreet
But he lived in the middle of a gangland
That was ruled by the scum of the streets
They called themselves the Hard Living Kids
They'd stick a knife in your heart without missing a beat

But there comes a time when this impotence
Starts chiselling away at your soul
And a man like Harry knows that it cant go on
And every time he dropped his eyes
Pretending that he just didn't see
Was another step closer to the edge
The night Harry J went to war

Now the cops they just seemed paralysed
Either dead scared or didn't have a care
And when the shit was going down out in the street
The only place to be was not out there
For Harry it was just a matter of time
A matter of when and how
The Hard Living Kids would push their luck too far
Cause it was running out by the hour

Then one night when the wind blew madly
On her way home work
The kids robbed and roughed up Harry's wife
And Harry knew the time had come
He had a date with destiny
This time the kids had fooled with his life
The night Harry J went to war

So Harry took a loaded shotgun
And walked into the street
He didn't have to ask directions
Or wonder who he'd meet
Before that long dark night was gone
Three Hard Living Kids lay dead
And things would change for the people there
And change the lives they lead

Then Harry gave himself in
And the Judge gave him fifteen years
But not before the story had been told
And Harry bore the burden
And he wept for what he'd done
But the hearts of a thousand victims remained cold
The night Harry J went to war

The streets where Harry's house is
Are different from before
The Hard Living Kids have moved on
They finally lost the war
But even in his prison cell
The law is deaf and blind
Cause the Kids roam free behind the prison walls
And Harry's not their kind

And the folks at home sleep easier
And anyone you meet
Will tell you Harry's name will never die
No one calls it murder
They call it cleaning up
And every man and woman knows the reason why
The night Harry J won the war