2002 Soap Box Archives

The Last Fallen Hero

Below are the lyrics to a new song we recently recorded and had intended
to do on the “Capitol Fourth” television show which is broadcast live
from the Mall in Washington, DC on the Fourth of July.
The Last Fallen Hero

The cowards came by morning
And attacked without a warning
Leaving death and flames and chaos in our streets
And in the middle of this fiery hell
Brave heroes fell

In the skies of Pennsylvania
On a plane bound for destruction
With the devil and his angels at the wheel
They never reached their target on the ground
Brave heroes brought it down

CHORUS
This is a righteous cause
So without doubt or pause
I will do what my country asks of me
Make any sacrifice
We’ll pay whatever price
So the children of tomorrow can be free
Lead on red, white and blue
And we will follow you
Until we win the final victory
God help us do our best
We will not slack nor rest
Till the last fallen hero rests in peace

Oh the winds of war are blowing
And there’s no way of knowing
Where this bloody path we’re traveling will lead
But we must follow to the end
Or face it all again

Make no mistake about it, write it, sing it, talk it, shout it
Across the mountains and the deserts and the seas
The blood of innocence and shame
Will not be shed in vain

REPEAT CHORUS

An Open Letter To Jerry Colbert, Producer of “A Capitol Fourth”, the
Fourth of July Show on PBS:

Mr. Colbert, I was honored and pleased when we were asked to be a part
of your show and totally surprised at your reaction to “The Last Fallen
Hero.”

We were informed by the powers that be at PBS, which I am assuming is
you, Mr. Colbert, that we could not do the song on the show and I have
respectfully declined to be on the show. We have recently gone through
this same thing with another song named “This Ain’t No Rag, It’s A
Flag,” and I just don’t want anybody to get the idea that I am on a star
trip or being egotistical or petulant.

Please let me explain. This song is a tribute to the people who lost
their lives on 9-11, the policemen, firemen and other emergency services
people who paid the ultimate price in the service of their fellow man.
The brave passengers who brought down that ill-fated plane in the
Pennsylvania countryside, the military personnel who were killed at the
Pentagon and the thousands of innocent people who lost their lives in
the bombing of the Trade Towers.

What better day to pay tribute to these fallen heroes than the Fourth of
July? After all, what are we celebrating on Independence Day? We are
celebrating the coming of age of the United States of America. The
colors of the very flag we salute represent the sacrifices of brave men
and women, the red representing the blood which was shed that we might
have an Independence Day to celebrate.

When I think of the young men and women who give up a goodly portion of
their prime years to wear the uniform of this country and go off to
stand in harm’s way for a nation which is too politically correct to
even acknowledge the war they’re fighting on the Fourth of July, it
makes me ashamed. I truly don’t understand the actions of PBS, the
network which espouses the causes of some pretty far out characters in
the name of freedom of speech. What happened to my freedom of speech?
Is music excluded?

I have made a living entertaining the public for over forty years now,
and I think I have a pretty good idea of the national mood, and I assure
you that this song would offend no one except the deplorable characters
who attacked our nation.

I thought the song was the perfect Fourth of July song and still do for
that matter, and I assure we will be doing it for an appreciative
audience in Atlanta, Georgia on the Fourth of July.

I will not spend a Fourth of July at a place where I can’t commend and
encourage our military, and I will not turn my back even for a day on
the thousands of innocent victims of 9-11. It is my feeling that they
all deserve to be remembered on the birthday of the nation they died
for.

God Bless America,

Charlie Daniels