The Bravest

[la_samtyr]

http://www.tompaxton.com/download.html

Click on "The Bravest" (download is free). Lyrics below the cut.

THE BRAVEST
By Tom Paxton
(Written 9/24/01)


The first plane hit the other tower
Right after I came in
It left a fiery, gaping hole
Where offices had been
We stood and watched in horror
As we saw the first ones fall
Then someone yelled, "Get out! Get out!
They're trying to kill us all"

I grabbed the pictures from my desk
And joined the flight for life
With every step I called the names
Of my children and my wife
And then we heard them coming up
From several floors below -
A crowd of fire fighters
With their heavy gear in tow

Chorus:
Now every time I try to sleep
I'm haunted by the sound
Of firemen pounding up the stairs
While we were running down

And when we met them on the stairs
They said we were too slow
"Get out! Get out!" they yelled at us
"The whole thing's going to go"
They didn't have to tell us twice
We'd seen the world on fire
We kept on running down the stairs
While they kept climbing higher

Chorus

Thank God we made it to the street
We ran through ash and smoke
I did not know which way to run -
I thought that I would choke
A fireman took me by the arm
And pointed me uptown
Then, "Christ!" I heard him whisper
As the tower came roaring down

So now I go to funerals
For men I never knew
The pipers play "Amazing Grace"
As the coffins come in view
They must have seen it coming
When they turned to face the fire
They sent us down to safety
Then they kept on climbing higher.

Chorus

©2001 Pax Music, ASCAP