# Dead Heroes' Homecoming (From poem to song)



## andrewclunn (Sep 28, 2017)

So upon revising my poem from this thread (and thanks for the feedback there, it helped to clarify what I really wanted to convey):

https://www.writingforums.com/threads/173397-Dead-Heroes-Homecoming

I realized that this could totally work as lyrics.  I've got enough training that I've found a solid set of chords and think my somewhat raspy deeper voice might do just fine (given enough trail and error and cutting together decent cuts to make a final mix).  So I'm intending to take this one all the way through.  Anyways here's the lyrics I've settled on:



_You said he'd be a hero, but all I see's a stone.
A reminder of one less soldier... one more who's never going home.
What's a medal to a man, when it's one he won't receive?
I'm sure his mother'd rather have her son than that medal and this grief.

(To change course now would dishonor their sacrifice.)
A wounded warrior is a reminder of the painful cost of wars,
but a fallen soldier is a martyr, and a symbol for the cause.

Do the lives of heroes matter,
or just the stories of who they were?
Are they fighting for the dying?
Is that what they're fighting for?

I turn on the TV and see two faces on the screen.
Firefighters, so I don't have to guess what seeing their faces means.
The images of killers are spread all over the place,
but a hero has to be a victim too before we know their face.

(Martyrs never truly die.)
How many times before had those same firefighters risked their lives?
But they never made the local news until both of them died.

Do the lives of heroes matter,
or are they stories and nothing more?
If they're just fighting for the dying
then what are they fighting for?

****** Instrumental interlude __******__

Dead heroes can't ask for anything.
They gave until they had no more.
Now they're just stories for the living.
Is that what their sacrificed was for?

Why strive to be a hero?  Is it for honor or for pride,
to live a life of meaning, or to prove we're good inside?
Does a symbol make a hero?  Is it a badge or uniform?
Do their sacrifices for the cause, mean their lives were not their own?

(Patriots don't question their duty.)
How many fallen heroes didn't believe in what you sell?
But you built a statue, told a tale, and stole their memory as well.

Do the lives of heroes matter,
beyond uploading the oath they swore?
Are they just fighting for the dying?
Because I don't know anymore..._



Any suggestions would be welcome, as I'm laying down the main melody before recording the vocals.  I'm going for a folk style, but to a marching beat, as I think that dichotomy fits the theme of the song.  One thing I'm not sold on is the title.  I was consider changing it, but I figure that can be the last thing I settle on.


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## Sebald (Sep 28, 2017)

Intriguing, Andrew. Original as ever, to think of turning this into a song. Possibly, for the title, 'Fighting for the Dying', from your final stanza?


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## sas (Oct 2, 2017)

I could actually "hear" this being sung. Remarkable. Glad you posted.

As for title, maybe: Dead Heroes Comin' Home


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## Gwenni63 (Jul 26, 2019)

Yes very very good! Do young people even have these discussions among themselves these days? I especially like the coda at the end


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