# THEY NEVER SAW THE GOODBYE [Intro] The cameras caught the flag in the morning sun They never caught the mother when the phone call come They filmed the marching, heard the crowd get loud But they never saw the goodbye That broke a family down [Verse 1] He was twenty one with a crack in his grin A little bit reckless, a heart full of wind He called his old man from a faraway place Said, when I get home, I'm gonna fix up the place He had a girl back home with a ring in a drawer A list of small dreams and a key to the door He wanted a house with a porch out front A dog in the yard and a life with the one Then the orders came down and he packed up his things Left a note for his brother and his mother's old ring Said, keep it safe till I get back around Then he kissed her goodbye without making a sound [Pre Chorus] The world kept turning The trains kept time But one little family Lost their whole sky [Chorus] THEY NEVER SAW THE GOODBYE! THEY NEVER HEARD THAT MOTHER CRY! THEY NEVER HELD THE HANDS THAT SHOOK WHEN THE FAMILY GOT THAT LOOK! They saw the flag and they heard the band They never saw the letter in a trembling hand They praised the brave beneath the open sky But they never saw the goodbye [Verse 2] His father still drives past the old fishing hole His mother still saves every story he's told His girl wears the ring that he never put on And talks to his picture when the evening comes The flag came folded, the room went still A silence so deep that it swallowed the hill And somewhere a leader kept talking that day While a family learned what forever could weigh Don't tell me the cost is a number on a page Don't tell me grief disappears with age Don't turn their sacrifice into a slogan you sell Honor their lives by serving them well Give the wounded a future, the grieving a hand Give the truth to the people who trusted your plan If you send someone out where the danger runs deep You owe them more than a promise to keep [Pre Chorus] The world kept turning The trains kept time But one little family Lost their whole sky [Chorus] THEY NEVER SAW THE GOODBYE! THEY NEVER HEARD THAT MOTHER CRY! THEY NEVER HELD THE HANDS THAT SHOOK WHEN THE FAMILY GOT THAT LOOK! They saw the flag and they heard the band They never saw the letter in a trembling hand They praised the brave beneath the open sky But they never saw the goodbye [Bridge] To the soldier who made it To the one who did not To the families still carrying Every memory they've got You are not forgotten You are not just a name Your love lives on in the lives you changed [Whistle Interlude] A lonely whistle rises through the trees A distant drum rolls on the evening breeze The battalion voices whisper low We remember those who never made it home [Final Chorus] THEY NEVER SAW THE GOODBYE! BUT WE WILL NEVER LET IT DIE! WE WILL REMEMBER EVERY NAME NOT AS A NUMBER, NOT AS A GAME! They saw the flag and they heard the band Now let them see the families who still stand Let every leader look them in the eye And answer for the lives behind goodbye [Outro] The cameras packed The crowds went home But grief kept knocking At a quiet door They never saw the goodbye We still remember Evermore
