Story Behind The Song
I was only two years old when my mother took me from England to Canada after my father died in WWII. One of the few pictures I had was of a helmet and a cross on a battlefield with my father's name on it. It was a very sad picture and it gave me such a lonely and empty feeling that I could never talk much about it or bring myself to write a song about it.
Recently a relative found my father's grave in a most beautiful and peaceful cemetery in the hills of Italy. When I saw those pictures it was astonishing to find such a weight lifted from me and although the helmet and a cross is still a sad picture, I now realize that my father died for my freedom and has always been with me with his hand gently on my shoulder and his music in my soul and so here is "A Helmet & A Cross (in memory of the fallen)
Please never forget THE SOLDIER!
Song Description
Man laments the lost of his father in a war
| Song Length |
3:45 |
Genre |
Folk - Country, Folk - General |
| Tempo |
Medium Slow (91 - 110) |
Lead Vocal |
Male Vocal |
| Mood |
Poignant, Moving |
Subject |
Father |
| Language |
English |
Era |
2000 and later |
Lyrics
A HELMET AND A CROSS
I NEVER KNEW MY FATHER CAN'T REMEMBER HIS SMILE
BUT I SAW A PICTURE OF HIM WHEN HE HELD ME IN HIS ARMS
HE SEEMED SO DAMN PROUD OF ME AND MAMA SAID HE WAS
BUT I NEVER GOT TO HEAR HIM SAY IT OR FEEL HIS LOVE
BRIDGE 1
BUT HE NEVER LEFT MY MOTHER 'CEPT TO GO AND FIGHT A WAR
SOMEWHERE ACROSS AN OCEAN THAT'S WHERE HE WAS LOST
AND THE ONLY TRIBUTE TO HIM WAS JUST A HELMUT AND A CROSS
CHORUS: 1
A HELMET AND A CROSS ON AN EMPTY FOREIGN LAND
WITH HIS RIFLE LEANED AGAINST IT IN THE DIRT AND SAND
BUT THAT'S ONE PICTURE OF HIM I WISH I NEVER HAD
VERSE 2
THERE WAS A DAD WHO RAISED ME MARRIED TO MY MOM
AND HE LOVED WITHOUT CONDITION LIKE I WAS HIS OWN SON
(BUT THERE) WAS AN EMPTY FEELING THAT I BURIED DEEP BECAUSE
I WAS HAUNTED BY THAT PICTURE OF A HELMUT AND A CROSS
BRIDGE 2
HERE'S ANOTHER ONE OF MY FATHER IN THE HILLS OF ITALY
WITH A SARGENT AND A CORPORAL LAYING BY HIS SIDE
I KNOW THEY'RE WATCHING OVER HIM FOR ME
CHORUS: 2
(NOW I'VE) COME TO UNDERSTAND IT'S NOT ABOUT WHAT I HAVE LOST
BUT ALL ABOUT MY FREEDOM AND WHAT IT COST
(THAT'S WHY) I CHERISH THAT PICTURE OF: A HELMET AND A CROSS
Copyright Rhett Davis Music 2012
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