Well, I just need a place to lay my head
Forget the chain that hangs around my neck
These guns are not as heavy as the hearts they defend
I can’t wait to get back home where I can find some rest

When I lay down my guns and lift my hands
Surrender to love and live again
May this desert reach it’s end where my new life begins
When I lay down my guns and lift my hands

I have seen the devil in this place
And I lost myself when my friends found the grave
When you’re this far from heaven, it’s hard keep the faith
I’m barely holding on, I can’t wait to …

I’m laying down these burdens, taking off the weights
I can’t count the miles that I walked to find my way
To lay down these guns … how I need to lay down these guns

I am abandoning my defenses and live to love again
When I lay down my guns and lift my hands


Written by Matt Hammitt, Chris Rohman, Mark Graalman, Dan Gartley, Pete Prevost, and Doug McKelvey © 2008 Birdwing Music (admin. by EMI CMG Publishing) (ASCAP) / Olde Irish Publishing (admin. by EMI CMG Publishing) / Songs Only Dogs Can Hear (BMI)

Behind the Song:
'This song uses war as spiritual metaphor. It is written from the point of view of a soldier in Iraq, longing for the day that he can lay down his guns and go home. For those of us who are aware of spiritual realities, we know that we are also at war ...with evil. Our war ends when we leave this life to be with Jesus. When we lay down our guns and lift our hands.' -Matt Hammitt (Sanctus Real)