Released: October 11, 2019

Songwriter: Alec Benjamin

Producer: Alec Benjamin

[Verse 1]
The old colonel was a veteran
Each night he'd take his medicine
And stay up watchin’ Letterman
Trying to forget
The things he saw when he was young
The carnage and the sound of guns
He kept his pain from everyone
With the ink inside his pen

[Chorus]
The colonel kept a journal of his troubles and regrets
His battles were internal, raging wars inside his head
'Til the end, he was a soldier
'Cause the fight was never over
The colonel kept a journal and he left it in a box
Buried in the basement underneath some dirty socks
’Til the end, he was a soldier
'Cause the fight was never over

[Verse 2]
And the day he died, his kids flew in
Took some time just to remember him
They cleaned up his old medicine
As everybody wept
They were packing up the cellar
When they found his diary, read it and
Couldn't believe the things he said
With the ink inside his pen

[Chorus]
The colonel kept a journal of his troubles and regrets
His battles were internal, raging wars inside his head
'Til the end, he was a soldier
'Cause the fight was never over
The colonel kept a journal and he left it in a box
Buried in the basement underneath some dirty socks
'Til the end, he was a soldier
'Cause the fight was never over

[Bridge]
Mmmm-mmm
Mmmm-mmm

[Verse 3]
The old colonel was a veteran
My granddad, and a gentleman
I'll always remember him
Oh, I swear I won’t forget
The things he saw when he was young
The carnage and the sound of guns
And the pain he kept from everyone
With the ink inside his pen

[Chorus]
The colonel kept a journal of his troubles and regrets
His battles were internal, raging wars inside his head
’Til the end, he was a soldier
'Cause the fight was never over
The colonel kept a journal and he left it in a box
Buried in the basement underneath some dirty socks
’Til the end, he was a soldier
'Cause the fight was never over

[Outro]
Mmmm-mmm
Mmmm-mmm

Alec Benjamin

After getting dropped by Columbia Records at 18 years old, singer-songwriter Alec Benjamin built a following by playing in parking lots outside of Shawn Mendes and Troye Sivan concerts. The Phoenix, Arizona native caught the attention of Jon Bellion, earning a songwriting credit on Bellion’s debut album and later joined him on tour.

To build on the momentum, Benjamin began uploading new songs to his YouTube channel at a rapid clip and eventually earned on a viral hit with “I Built a Friend” and a deal with Atlantic Records.

Benjamin connects to listeners by incorporating using his life struggles to tell stories and give meaning to his songs. You can see this in “Let Me Down Slowly,” “Paper Crown,” “I Built a Friend,” “Death of a Hero,” and “If We Have Each Other.”