Hometown Hero
Homecoming Reflections: A Hometown Hero's Unseen Struggle
Lyrics
You should be with us now
You should be present with us now.
You should be here
You should be physically here.
We should be sitting by the fire on our second round of beers
We should be enjoying each other's company by the fire, sharing a second round of beers.
We opened the whiskey, we're out back in the shop
We've opened a bottle of whiskey and gathered in the backyard or workshop.
We're raising our glass to you, still numb from the shock
We're toasting to you, still in disbelief and emotional from the sudden news.
Cause you're the only one who's missing and it doesn't feel right
Your absence is palpable, and something feels amiss.
You should be tucking in your baby girl and kissing her goodnight
You should be performing the bedtime routine with your daughter, giving her a goodnight kiss.
Your son is full of questions about how Daddy got to heaven
Your son is curious about how you ended up in heaven.
We're never thought you'd go this way, you were only twenty-seven
We never expected you to leave this world this way, especially at the age of twenty-seven.
Our hometown hero's in the news today
You, a local hero, are making headlines today.
The flags are flying at half mast
The town is mourning, and flags are lowered to half-mast.
We buried you on a clear blue All Saints Day
Your funeral took place on a clear All Saints Day.
To the lonesome sound of trumpet playing taps
The solemn sound of a trumpet played taps during the burial.
You went to Afghanistan
You served in Afghanistan.
You were only 19
You were only 19 years old at that time.
You never talked much about the things that you'd seen
You didn't talk much about the experiences you had in the war.
You came back to your hometown to a start a new life
You returned to your hometown to start a new chapter in life.
Had a couple of babies and a beautiful wife
You built a family with a beautiful wife and a couple of children.
But the demons that you lived with you hid well, we never saw
You concealed the internal struggles well; we were unaware of the demons you faced.
The guns that you kept loaded and the patches in the wall
You had loaded guns and patches on the wall, hidden from our view.
She was in the kitchen making lunches and the kids were in their beds
While your wife was in the kitchen preparing lunches, and the kids were in bed,
And in a flash we lost you to the war inside your head
We lost you suddenly to the war within your own mind.
Our hometown hero's in the news today
The local hero is again in the news.
The flags are flying at half mast
The town is grieving, and flags are lowered once more.
We buried you on a clear blue All Saints Day
Your burial occurred on a clear All Saints Day.
To the lonesome sound of trumpet playing taps
Taps played on the trumpet, creating a lonely atmosphere.
A father should never have to bury his own son
A father should never have to bury his own son.
He throws a shovel full of dirt down and we follow one by one
The somber act of burying you takes place, with each person following with a shovel of dirt.
Your kids are gonna grow up asking about you
Your children will grow up with questions about you.
How you could love someone and leave them and how
The dilemma is explored: How can one both love and leave?
Both things could be true?
Pondering if both aspects can coexist as truths.
Our hometown hero's in the news today
The hometown hero is once again making headlines.
The flags are flying at half mast
The community mourns, and flags are at half-mast in your honor.
We buried you on a clear blue All Saints Day
You were laid to rest on a clear All Saints Day.
To the lonesome sound of trumpet playing taps
Taps played on the trumpet, echoing a sense of loneliness.
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