SOLDIER
I’m not just an American…my life was changed that day
Yes, I became a soldier… in my own special way

I couldn’t stop the jet planes…from taking flight
I wasn’t there for comfort…through the screams, through the sights

I wish I could have called out for the buildings to be cleared
I couldn’t be there to help those people when they feared

And when those brave souls who were on duty didn’t get home from work
Couldn’t be there for the families crying all shocked and hurt

I didn’t have to go through all the rubble, or through the smoke and fire to identify
Couldn’t help to find out what was what, or who was who, or why all those people had to die

But I’m not just an American, and my life was changed that day
And I became a soldier in my own special way

Tried to put myself in their places but couldn’t imagine the strain
Been praying for the victim’s souls and for their loved one’s pain

I listened to the tragic details to numb to really feel
Then I went to give some blood for the wounded to help them heal

I woke my son next mornin’ only to hear him say,
“Ma, no one’s going to school today, they scared us all away”

I said, “You get up and go now, even if you’re the only one
We’re not going to show that kind of fear. And listen son, they
have not really won, now Ma has to be strong and wipe her tears”

And as I put on my makeup, my clothes, and my working shoes,
A certain strength came over me, yes, one I never knew.

All the way out the door I hung the flag—hung it at half mast
Put the red, white, and blue on the car and saw waving flags that passed.

I’m not just an American, my life was changed that day,
Yes, I became a soldier, in my own special way

That message of liberty still rings out across the land
For the victims and their loved ones it’s united we stand
For the victims and their loved ones it’s united we stand
For the victims and their loved ones it’s united we stand

Lyrics: Nuala Molloy Moran c 09/14/2001, revised c 2010
Music, Performance, Production: Newell Bate c 2010