“IT’S THE START

OF A MOVEMENT!”

I left my home for work today, just kissed my love goodbye,

I’m sure there was much more to say, but I didn’t want to try.

I have a son and daughter now, they’re old enough to know,

The war may take their mother, how can I just let her go?

My girl, she wants to serve her country in a military ward.

I feel the crumbling of my heart, how much more can I afford?

You’ve got to earn this time away,

You’ve got to come home soon.

You’ve got to earn this every day,

And when you return, we’ll know that it was worth the wait.

I knew when we got married, she’d be gone from time to time,

And long nights at the hospital were hard, but we were fine.

She says she won’t be gone to long but I know that ain’t her call,

And even as a medic it is possible she’ll fall.

I can’t know where she’s going and we won’t talk every day,

But if we’re gonna make it, there’s a cost along the way.

You’ve got to earn this time away,

You’ve got to come home soon.

You’ve got to earn this every day,

And when you return, we’ll know that it was worth the wait.

The army says, “be flexible” and “keep your spirits high,”

But when I see my children, it’s impossible to lie.

I say their mother’s saving lives and it’s where she needs to be.

And just like soldiers stick together, so will we.

You’ve got to earn this time away,

You’ve got to come home soon.

You’ve got to earn this every day,

And when you return, we’ll know that it was worth the wait.

I always thought a soldier was a bully dressed in uniform, not a hero.  What did I know?

I’d say, “man, you could do anything, like build or teach or even sing a love song.”  How is that wrong?

But then today, I passed a boy who was sitting on the dock and he said, “mister, can you see that man?”  

He was pointing out to sea at a U.S. Navy officer.  I shrugged, but then he took my hand and said:

“That’s my dad, he fights for me and I wish to God that everyone could see how amazing he is and what he has to be every moment, so we can all be free.”

He said, “That’s my dad, he fights for you and even if you don’t like what he has to do, he’s amazing and I pray that he comes home to me and that our country can live in peace.”

When I was young, I didn’t have to be involved or join the army, I could stay in school and everything was cool.

There was no education or discussion ‘cross the nation ‘bout a soldier’s life, let alone his wife.

And then I heard a girl who was talking to her mother, she said, “momma, can you see that flag?”  She was only four years old, but she still made the connection.  How could someone so young understand? 

She said, “That’s my dad, he fights for me and I wish to God that everyone could see how amazing he is and what he has to be every moment, so we can all be free.”

She said, “That’s my dad, he fights for you and even if you don’t like what he has to do, he’s amazing and I pray that he comes home to me and that our country can live in peace.”

Now they say the war is almost over and we’ll get to see our soldiers coming home, but nothing’s set in stone.

It is our duty to engage with every Vet of every age to help their conscience clear, to let them know we’re here.

Growing up today is nothing like when I was younger; every war was always miles away.  We didn’t have to watch as two planes took down the towers, children everywhere now stand and say…they say:

“That’s my dad, he fights us even if you don’t like what he has to do, he’s amazing and I pray that he comes home to me and that our country can live in peace.”

And if nations can stop lifting up their swords against each other, then the world can truly be at peace.

I woke up, looked at the sky.  

I saw hundreds of planes passing by.

I could feel under my skin that a new day was soon to begin.

You’ve been gone for so long, patient and strong.  Now it’s our turn to carry you on.

Don’t look back on what you’ve done.  

No one’s judging who you have become.

You are mine, I am yours.  There’s a new way of life to explore.

All the courage you’ve shown, you are never alone.  Now it’s our turn to carry you on.

You carried me after they took down the towers, you said it was simply your job.  Look at me, won’t you please hear my song.

Carry you on; carry you on.  It’s our turn to carry you on.

I’m your friend, I’m in your debt.

I’m your son, though we never have met.

You are scared, so am I, but we owe it to those who have died.

We can open our minds, cross over lines.  This is our burden, both you and I.  

You are here, finally home.  

We are proud just to call you our own.

There is life waiting for you.

Take my hand and we’ll both follow through.

And the journey begins as we both wash our sins and forgive how we might have been wrong.

Whatever you’ve done so that we can be free, however you had to survive;

We must heal, we will stand at your side.  

And carry you on; carry you on.  It’s our turn to carry you on.

One early Sunday morning after a night of not much sleep, 

Cassandra sat beside her window pane.

She was lookin’ out for answers just to calm her beating heart, 

But nothing seemed to penetrate the rain.

She looked over at her husband, lying quietly at peace, 

So in love with him and how he’s changed her life.

And she wondered if he’s ready for the choice she had to make, 

How does a husband live without his wife?

Cassandra knows when her plane departs, 

She’ll look back upon a trail of broken hearts, 

But no matter how the sadness grows,

Cassandra knows.

She doesn’t want to leave her family, she doesn’t want to say goodbye,

But she made her mind up many months ago.

Cause when they came on 9/11 and they destroyed so many lives,

She was helpless then, but why, she didn’t know.

But when her sister lost her children and her brother lost his wife,

Cassandra’s heart made sounds she’d never heard before.  

And although she felt defeated and although she struggled from day to night,

Cassandra found the strength to go and join the Corps.

Cassandra knows deep inside her soul, 

that she might be the one for whom the bell will toll,

but however the wind must blow, 

Cassandra knows.

Oh Cassandra…

She lays a kiss upon her children and she swears she’ll be home soon,

But the kids don’t know why she’s gotta go and what for.

They’re gonna have to stick together, they’re gonna have to fight each day,

This is the greatest battle fought within the war.

Cassandra off to serve her country, to protect the red and the white and the blue,

There is nothing more for Cassandra to explain.

This country loves Cassandra, we are so grateful for her strength.

But how much can we ask her to sustain?

Oh Cassandra…

You’ll never know how I love you each day,

Without you, my world is so small.

I promise that the days will go by

And it won’t be too long before until I see you again.

I miss you so, playin’ out in the yard, 

The way that you slow down my life.

Though I’m gone, I hold onto your smile,

And it helps me to comfort the pain.

Oh, it hurts me so hard not to see you growing up strong,

And oh, it hurts me so hard that you don’t know when I will come home…

I love you so, more than you’ll ever feel,

And I know that your journey’s been long,

I can’t wait to hold your sweet head on my chest,

And tell you that wartime is gone.

Oh, it hurts me so hard not to tell you stories each night,

And oh it hurts me so hard that you both have to keep up this fight…

I send you my heart and I long for the day,

When this war and all war is done,

But till then, I will fight and I’ll pray for peace,

So this world can be safe for my son.

Welcome home, my warrior, is the fighting really done?

You’ve been gone forever it seems and there are many who think we’ve won.

But how do you feel and can it be real?

Welcome home, my warrior, though you don’t know who I am,

I’ve thought about you every day, waking up in a far off land,

And all I can say is God bless today.

Come home, America…let wartime be gone,

Let us be grateful and free.

Come home, America…please take my hand,

I want you walkin’ with me.

When you left your family, they didn’t know if you’d survive,

Every night, they waited to hear that somehow you were still alive,

And if you came home now and then, you were sent back soon again.

Now the war’s been strugglin’ on and we’ve been livin’ day to day,

I swear to God we haven’t forgotten every sacrifice you made,

And to the soldiers who have died, we bear your name.

Come home, America…let wartime be gone,

Let us be grateful and free.

Come home, America…please take my hand,

I want you walkin’ with me.

Come home, America.  

From our enemies – come home.  

From destruction – come home.

From the war and the fear and from not being here, from eternity – come home.

To a nation – come home.  

To your family – come home.

To rebuilding, reviving, relaxing and thriving - 

America, come home.

Another Sunday in July, 

Another day I wonder why,

I try to get up out of bed,

But I’m a prisoner inside my head.

Sometimes I wish that it were me...

There were so many of us there,

But bullets fly and they don’t care.

I don’t know why I’m here today, 

When all my buddies they came another way.

Sometimes I wish that it were me, sometimes I wish that it were me instead of them.

“Take a breath, slow it down,

Raise my head off the ground,

It’s ok, I’m alive,

I will live for you, each day I’ll try.”

When I got back I was ok, 

I thought I’d find a job and fall in love and make my way.

But then the sleepin’ got real hard,

I kept on thinkin’ it’s my fault they’re gone, that I dropped my guard,

And then I’d wish that it were me…

Life is better now, I guess, 

I write my thoughts down every day to clear my head,

I’m still in pain, but I get by,

So many others lost their limbs and some died.

Sometimes I wish that it were me instead of them.

“Take a breath, slow it down,

Raise my head off the ground,

It’s ok, I’m alive,

I will live for you, each day I’ll try.”

I’m writing a song about love,

I’m writing a song about peace,

I’m writing a song to us all figure out what we need.

I’m writing for you and me,

I’m writing for everybody,

Cause in times like these we need a song for peace.

The day that a soldier departs, 

The day she is set to deploy,

A family fills with hope and suddenly loses joy,

They’re hoping she’ll be home soon,

They’re hoping that she’ll sing this tune, 

Cause in times like these we need a song for peace.

Every soldier needs a shoulder, 

Don’t fear them, just hear them.

If you listen, you will see

What’s been missin’ in our history,

Everyone must join together now.

I think about Vets coming home,

I think about how they must feel, 

But we gotta do more than just think, we gotta do somethin’ real.

We need to lend a hand, and maybe then we’ll understand that

In times like these we need a song for peace.

Morning shadows hang above my head,

Will I have the strength to leave my bed?

All I have to do is touch the ground,

Easier to do when you’re around.

So I lie here hoping to be found,

Waiting for my heart to settle down.

It’s the difference you make,

It’s the lives that you save,

And though you don’t know,

Just how far your love goes,

Walking through the day is often hard,

Feeling like a scattered bunch of leaves in the yard,

I could gather each one to a pile,

Soft and fragile calling to a child,

Or a gust of wind could make them fly,

Either way, you’re rakin’ by my side.

It’s the difference you make,

It’s the lives that you save,

And though you don’t know,

Just how far your love goes,

There’s a difference you make to me constantly just being who you are.

I don’t need anything more.

From that sweet moment you came to me, life has been more than just possible.

You make me want to explore.

But when I see the chaos in my mind,

A thousand spinning clocks I wish I could unwind,

Take each one with all its moving parts,

Making second hand demands upon my heart.

It’s the difference you make,

It’s the lives that you save,

And though you don’t know,

Just how far your love goes,

It’s the difference you make,

It’s the lives that you save,

And though you don’t know,

Just how far your love goes,

There’s a difference you make.

ALT LYRICS:

With precision, they attack at will,

But the thought of you makes time stand still.

When I try to sleep, I can not,

There’s a thunder storm between my thoughts.

I repeat the words you often say:

“Deep breath in, then sigh your fears away.”

Words release, but they won’t always do,

My serenity descends from you.

I got a call today I thought I never get,

The man said, “pack your things, this war ain’t over yet.”

I’ve been fighting in Afghanistan for seven years today,

I don’t know how much longer I can stand to stay away.

He said my wheels go up at 0500 sharp,

Another sleepless night for me and my exhausted heart.

I wonder if I’ll ever see my wife again,

My daughter only knows me through the letters that I send.

See, that’s how they pay, that’s how they pay.

They just have to wait till I can say I’m coming home.

“Don’t know where you’re goin’, but ya gotta take it all,” he said.

Looked around my quarters, put my four bags on the bed.

I’d like to fly away and leave it all behind, 

But that would not erase these memories from my mind.

At 0430, I walked out to board that plane,

Wherever I was headed, I was sure it’d be the same.

What will I have to do and how long will it last?

Here in the army, these are questions you just don’t ask.

And that’s how we pay, that’s how we pay.

I just have to wait till I can say I’m coming home.

I’m sitting on this plane, too tired to fall asleep,

Forever held awake by all the secrets I must keep.

Why are we just sitting here, why aren’t we in the air?

It’s only my anxiety that really seems to care.

Finally we’re flying, but it’s way too dark to see.

The other soldiers on the plane are happier than they should be.

A smile is something I have learned to live without, 

But suddenly, I found it when I heard the 4th lieutenant shout.

He said, “we’re on our way; we won’t have to pay…

We’re heading back to the USA!”

I’m coming home.

I’m coming home to my America, 

But I don’t know what I’ll find,

Folks will shake my hand and say they’re grateful for my kind.

Home to my America, 

To a life that once was mine,

The fight may be ahead though I’ll have left the war behind…

My heart was racing now and I could hardly breathe,

In 15 hours, I would hold my family.

Why had I been released, did I do something wrong?

Then I got my papers, saying I had done my job.

And I’m on my way, I don’t have to pay.

I don’t have to wait, I can finally say, “I’m coming home.”