It's not hard to reach back to the day
underneath 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 day
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. 

Say goodbye, bye, bye, Mrs. Sullivan.
And don't you cry, cry, cry, cry, cry.
"We regret to inform you
that 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.
That all five of her boys were lost. 

So say goodbye, bye, bye, Mrs. Sullivan.
And go ahead and cry, cry, cry, cry, cry.
"We regret to inform you all your sons
have passed away."
All five, five, five, five!
So change your blue stars to gold!

Change your blue stars to gold!

Blue stars to gold!

Blue stars, change them to gold!

Blue stars to gold!