there's a bible on the table
there's a bottle on the shelf
there's a woman in the kitchen
cryin' quietly to herself
down the hallway, in the bedroom
he can hear his children wail
when all you got is a hammer
everything looks like a nail
well he came home from the desert
with a medal on his chest
like a hero, like a champion
but he felt more like a guest
now he sleeps with one eye open
and he wakes up scared as hell
and all he's got is a hammer
and everything looks like a nail
well they show you how to shoot and they show you how to kill
but they don't show you what to do with this hole that you can't fill
so you dwell in the darkness of your soul like Jonah in the belly of the whale
and all you got is a hammer and everything looks like a nail
when a good man in a bad dream
can't make it on his own
when he can't feed his own damn children
on the money that he brings home
and the deck is stacked against him
and he knows he's bound to fail
and all he's got is a hammer
everything looks like a nail