Summer Russell: Music
The Unknown Soldier
This song was written on Veterans Day 2009. It is dedicated to all the men and women who have served honorably in the United States armed forces.
"HERE RESTS IN HONORED GLORY AN AMERICAN SOLDIER KNOWN BUT TO GOD." - inscription on the Tomb of the Unknowns, Arlington, VA.
A monument of flowers and stone
It stands upon the hill, alone.
A hundred years of wind and rain
And tears have streaked its face.
The guard is kept with solemn tread
And even angels bow their heads,
For here, in honored glory,
Is a soldier’s resting place.
He was just a boy when the Great War came
He dug the trenches and he flew the planes
He grew up because he had to
After everything he’d seen
Then he stormed the beach at Normandy
To light the torch for liberty
And gave his blood upon the sand
So others might be free.
And somewhere in the fields of France
Where seas of poppies grow,
The unknown soldier has a name
That only God may know
The unknown soldier has a name
That only God may know.
Twice he went across the sea
To be where he was told to be
He didn’t understand it,
But he did the best he could.
One they called the Forgotten War,
Though the men still died like they did before
And one they wouldn’t call a war
Though he fought it where he stood.
He tried to be a good man,
Never called himself a hero
But when he made it home alive
He found his country changed
Spat upon and thrown away
He carried on and made his way
But it’s hard to make a new life
When the new world feels so strange.
And when the pain won’t let him sleep
But he can’t escape his dreams,
The unknown soldier cries alone
Where only God can see
The unknown soldier cries alone
Where only God can see.
Now he serves again in a far-off land,
In the blinding heat of the desert sand
And his days are long and thankless
But he’s never once complained
There are people who depend on him,
That’s why he’s here--it’s always been.
He cannot show them weakness,
Though he often feels afraid.
It’s the little things, when he’s alone,
That make the soldier ache for home
A letter sealed with sweet perfume,
The memory of a wedding tune.
So he makes his cot, and he cleans his gun
And he thinks about his only son
And he smiles, and wonders if
He’ll get to meet him someday soon.
And in the silence of his heart,
Beyond the doubt and fear
The unknown soldier says a prayer
That only God can hear
The unknown soldier says a prayer
That only God can hear.
He’ll never ask for wealth or fame
Or even for a “Thank you, sir,”
Or a medal for his uniform
To prove that he was brave.
But in the silence of his heart—
That quiet, hopeful, humble part—
He prays that people won’t forget
The sacrifice he gave
And in the night, when all is safe
And sleeping unaware,
The unknown soldier keeps a watch
That only God can share
The unknown soldier keeps a watch
That only God can share.