Their Last Full Measure

[Intro] The flags are moving slowly, In the morning light, Rows of stone stand silent, Dressed in names and white. [Verse] Some were sons and daughters, Some were husbands, wives, and friends, Some were barely more than children, When they gave all they could spend. They left behind the front porch, The laughter and the plans, The pictures on the mantle, And a folded flag in trembling hands. [Pre-Chorus] We do not come to celebrate, The cost that had to be, We come to bow our hearts today, For the price that keeps us free. [Chorus] For their last full measure, For the brave who gave it all, For the names carved into stone, For the ones who heard the call. For the empty chairs at tables, For the tears that still remain, We remember their last full measure, And we speak their names again. [Verse] There's a mother with a photograph, That time can't fade away, There's a child who knows a hero, From the stories people say. There's a brother standing quiet, There's a wife who wears the ring, There's a friend who hears their voice sometimes, When the church bells start to sing. [Pre-Chorus] Freedom is not weightless, It was carried, it was bought, By the ones who stood in danger, And gave all that they had. [Chorus] For their last full measure, For the brave who gave it all, For the names carved into stone, For the ones who heard the call. For the empty chairs at tables, For the tears that still remain, We remember their last full measure, And we speak their names again. [Bridge] Let every flag fly lower, Let every heart be still, Let every careless hour, Remember what they willed. Not for glory, not for riches, Not for songs of their own name, But for home, and hope, and country, They walked through fire and flame. [Build] One drum for the fallen, One bell for the brave, One prayer for the families, Standing by the grave. One nation remembering, One silence, one tear, One promise we will carry, Year after year. [Final Chorus] For their last full measure, For the brave who gave it all, For the names carved into stone, For the ones who heard the call. For the empty chairs at tables, For the tears that still remain, We remember their last full measure, And we speak their names again. [Outro] The flags are moving slowly, In the fading light, Rows of stone stand silent, Keeping watch tonight. We remember, We remember, Their last full measure.