It's not hard to reach back to the day beneath an Iowa sun
Running to the tower of Waterloo
Looking for the Sullivan train to come
His five boys would run to the top
And salute him as he went by.
First we'd wave hello
Then we'd wave goodbye (goodbye!)

It's not hard to reach back to the days
After the attack on Pearl
Overnight my buddies turned into men,
Running out of time for games and girls
The Sullivan boys were not overlooked
Uncle Sam calling each by name
The very next day they left on a mystery...train

Say goodbye, bye, bye, Mrs. Sullivan
Don't you cry, cry, cry, cry, cry
"We regret to inform you the Navy is taking your sons away"
All five, five, five...five
So put your blue star in the window

It's not hard to reach back to her smile
When she received their letter.
The letters, they sounded generally the same it said:
"If they couldn't be home, at least they were together
On a mighty fighting battleship, somewhere in the South Pacific"
The letters never got much more specific.

So say goodbye, bye, bye, Mrs. Sullivan
And don't you cry, cry, cry, cry, cry
"We regret to inform you the Navy is keeping your sons away"
All five, five, five....five
So keep your blue star in the window

It's not hard to reach back to the day
When the war finally came home
Uncle Sam he'll send you a telegram
So he doesn't have to tell you over the phone
I heard she cracked up, when they found out what the war had cost,
And all five of her boys were lost
they were, they were, they were, THEY WERE

Say goodbye, bye, bye, Mrs. Sullivan
Go ahead and cry, cry, cry, cry, cry
"We regret to inform you that all your sons have passed away"
All five, five, five, FIVE!
So change your blue star to gold...blue star to gold....
...blue stars, change them to gold