Story Behind The Song

Written in a hotel room in Chicago Illinois on the day Saddam Hussein's final ultimatum ran down. Written as the "clock" on MSNBC counted down the hours.

Song Description

A ballad about a soldier's last night before going off to war. His little girl haunts him with a question, "Daddy, are there monsters outside my window?" In the end, the answer to that question is "yes." There are monsters in the world, and peace is something worth fighting for.

Lyrics

His bags are packed, his uniform is pressed.
The lights are out, and he lies down for one last night of rest.
His little girl wakes up from a dream.
He goes to her and he puts his arm around her in the moonlight gleam. She says...

"Daddy, are there monsters outside my window?"
His lips say "no" but his heart says "yes."
"But you just go to sleep, and Jesus will bless and keep you tonight."

He lies awake, and his wife whispers in his ear. She says "I thought I understood but now everything is so unclear.
'Cause I don't want you to go, I don't want to say goodbye."
He looked at her, and in the fading light he could see her cry. He said,

"Honey, there are monsters outside our window,
and tommorrow I'll be off to fight.
So you just go back to sleep, and Jesus will bless and keep you tonight."

He met someone, she was carrying a sign.
And from the words he read, he could tell it was a pacifist's design.
She said, "There is nothing more evil than going off to war."
He replied, "I can think of one, maam: having nothing worth fighting for. You see,

"There are monsters outside our window,
and my little girl needs to sleep.
So I will fight for peace, and Jesus will bless and keep me, tonight.

Yes, I will fight for peace, and Jesus will bless and keep me tonight."