Welcome Home
Corey Cott & Laura Osnes Lyrics

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What's this?

It's a poem. To you and the guys
There's so much I didn't see, and I'm so sorry

Nick learned to survive
Means you never trust
Once you see the worst in man, the

How do you adjust?
And I stand here helpless
My arms extended
Knowing full well, darling
Your war's not ended
Welcome home, my boys
Welcome home, my sons
Welcome home, my husband
Welcome home, my love
Welcome home
Welcome home
Welcome home

All the sleepless nights
Praying you'd return
Safely to my arms with
All the honor you would earn
Letters ev'ry day
Sent to reassure
Knowing all the dangers
Were duties of the tour
Now our wait has ended
Our years of yearning
And I'm at my doorway
My love returning
Welcome home, my dear
Welcome home, my sweet
Welcome home, my hero
Welcome home, my heart
Welcome home

Welcome home
Welcome home

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of the song "Welcome Home" by Corey Cott and Laura Osnes convey a heartfelt message of love, gratitude, and relief towards the soldiers returning from war. The singer of the song acknowledges that there were things they didn't fully understand or see before, and expresses remorse for not comprehending the hardships and sacrifices endured by the soldiers who learned to survive by not trusting easily. They empathize with the soldiers, recognizing the difficulties in readjusting to life after witnessing the worst in humanity.

Line by Line Meaning

What's this?
This is a poem, meant for you and the others.

It's a poem. To you and the guys
This poem is dedicated to you and your comrades.

There's so much I didn't see, and I'm so sorry
I apologize for not understanding what you have been through.

Nick learned to survive
Nick has learned how to stay alive in difficult situations.

Means you never trust
This survival instinct requires you to be cautious and never fully trust others.

Once you see the worst in man, the
Once you witness the darkest aspects of humanity, the

How do you adjust?
How do you adapt to the world after experiencing such horrors?

And I stand here helpless
I feel powerless in this situation.

My arms extended
I am ready to embrace you.

Knowing full well, darling
Being fully aware, my beloved

Your war's not ended
Your personal battle is not over.

Welcome home, my boys
I happily welcome you back, my dear sons.

Welcome home, my sons
I joyfully welcome the return of my beloved sons.

Welcome home, my husband
I wholeheartedly welcome you, my dear husband.

Welcome home, my love
I warmly welcome the love of my life back home.

Welcome home
I am filled with joy at your return.

All the sleepless nights
Throughout all the nights without sleep

Praying you'd return
I prayed for your safe return.

Safely to my arms with
Arriving safely into my awaiting embrace

All the honor you would earn
All the honor and recognition you deserve

Letters ev'ry day
I sent letters every day

Sent to reassure
Sent to provide comfort and assurance

Knowing all the dangers
Being aware of all the risks

Were duties of the tour
Were part of the responsibilities during your service

Now our wait has ended
Finally, our long wait is over

Our years of yearning
The longing we had for so many years

And I'm at my doorway
I am standing at the entrance of our home

My love returning
My beloved is returning to me

Welcome home, my dear
My dearest, welcome back

Welcome home, my sweet
Welcome home, my beloved and sweet one

Welcome home, my hero
Welcome back, my courageous hero

Welcome home, my heart
My heart is elated by your return

Welcome home
I am filled with joy at your return

Contributed by Ella F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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01Welcome Home

Corey Cott & Laura Osnes

02This Is Life

03First Steps First

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Comments from YouTube:

@TrueBananazVA

3y↑124

1:27

The subtle yet prevalent acting of the band members is astounding. Just look at the trombone player's reaction after Julia says "faced with raising kids who did not recognize their dad"

@offsewingdragons9142

1y↑3

He looks absolutely crushed inside. This musical is such a beautiful tragedy.

@bottleofwater2647

1y↑3

The trombone players name is Wayne Wright, he is actually my favourite supporting character because he has the most and least amount of story at the same time

@ChiaraBaptistaVieira

23w

My god i just saw it because you said, i can’t cry right now but i really need

@monicavasquez988

4y↑195

I absolutely adore this song because you can see and hear all the emotions with each actor.
For example, when it gets to Donny's part you can tell he's just trying to focus on the music and keeps the thoughts and emotions of war out of his mind. Also, the fact that they had mutes in their instruments was a really nice touch.

@real_melody_barnes

3y↑16

Yes. And if you look closely at Jimmy during his sax bit, you can see he’s wearing his dogtags.

@tylercox8915

3y↑20

And when she talks about how Wayne fills his days, he plays really aggressively and loud like he's trying to block it out, and then gets quiet and pensive when she mentions that his kids barely know him

@real_melody_barnes

3y↑15

And Wayne looks like he’s gonna cry at that part too.

@flamingkitten1

3y↑14

When she says 'knowing your wars not ended' you can see Donny almost bursting into tears

@KristynDodge

2y↑4

@Real_Melody _Barnes Looks like most of them if not all of them are wearing their tags. Which really makes sense!

2 More Replies...

@christynemacavinta3137

3y↑130

I love how it feels almost as if every one in the song is on the edge of insanity. I love how unlike other musicals since every instrument has a character behind it every instrument has emotion and sorrow and anger out behind it as well. All of them displaying the characters’ struggles through music. It’s just beautifully heart breaking.

@christianburkhart3601

2y↑6

I think having the actors play their instruments added such a beautiful level to this show that cannot be touched especially with the emotional depth of the show

@brifleming7835

Yes, your thoughts are mine. And it's just beautifully heart breaking!

@willberger3873

2y↑51

The anger and despair behind that saxophone solo is insane. I don't think that this musical is great, but the payoff for this finale is, in my opinion, one of the greatest in Broadway history.

@offsewingdragons9142

1y↑2

Im preparing to be an ensemble member in this show, I don’t think its the greatest either but i think it does what so many musicals fail to do: take advantage of what you have. Tell a story that’s untold through a unique soundtrack. So many musicals just follow the same basic sounding music to the point where you can’t tell wicked from ragtime. Thats also why Hamilton was so wildly popular, whoever’s heard of a rap musical before ?

@seppyq3672

3y↑154

This song is still one of the greatest songs written for the theater. It's a hard song to sing too!

@jamesrankin7598

3y↑9

absolutely brilliant. Using WWII as a vehicle, the song describes the effect of PTSD from exposure to war's violence in any war.

@seppyq3672

@James Rankin absolutely.

@mickeyphillips6603

3y↑37

My father fought in WW2. He never told me about the horrible things that he witnessed. I was fortunate to see this show during its Broadway run. It shed a lot of light on understanding my father better. The emotion in Laura’s beautiful singing voice is incredible. Everyone did a great job on this performance.

@aaronburrsir598

3y↑48

Anyone else get literal chills every time?

@brifleming7835

2y↑1

Yes!

@Stephanie-in9we

3y↑65

This performance makes me cry every single time. It's so powerful

@lulurenouard

3y↑45

Still have never seen the full musical but I’m still obsessed

@lulurenouard

@June Zoellers omg you’re a life saver thank you!!!

@offsewingdragons9142

1y↑1

The proshot’s on youtube for free!!

@Bella-Jean

2y↑11

Literally one of the best musicals to ever exist… she’s my dream role but I could never 🥲

@emilyweaver515

3y↑18

The way they all interact with her and the lyrics just makes this masterpiece that much better💕

@silentsmurf

3y↑53

Oh wow this is so much more emotional than on the cast recording

@jamesrankin7598

3y↑10

a live audience is always superior to a studio recording, wonderfully emotional. To really get the emotion, you need to have seen at least the second act, better though to have seen the whole show.

@davidwyman153

40w

@@jamesrankin7598 I agree. Although, I think the closing number in the first act is just as powerful.

@erinmedlen5206

3y↑13

Got the chills! Such a good song! Such emotion!

@davidwyman153

23w

I have watched the entire show about 10 times and have listened to this song and the closing song to the first act by Donny at least 20 times each. I have yet to make it to the end of either song without tearing up, especially Laura's closing Welcome Home.

My father was a soldier in WWII but never saw combat because of a disability. The best man at his wedding fought in the Battle of the Bulge. Another friend of theirs fought in Korea. I had friends serve in Vietnam. Any one of these wars could have been the basis for this play because every one produced soldiers with these issues; whether you call is battle fatigue, shell shock or PTSD. My father, his friends and my friends from Vietnam never discuss what it was like in combat. It took my father's best man until the late 1950s to be able to sleep in a room with other people, including his wife, because of the nightmares.

@briancrocker3113

3y↑11

I was thrilled to see this show on Broadway. Amazing!

@tamaralso

3y↑34

I saw Bandstand in previews, it was the first Broadway musical I ever saw after years and years of local and community theater. It's a funny little show in that I didn't like it that much composition-wise. There were lots of moments where the show felt incomplete or where the transitions were odd. But I swear it's been 3 years and it has yet to give up its grasp on my heart. This song gives me the shivers like my body is remembering what it felt like to sit and cry in that theater. Anyway...

@offsewingdragons9142

1y↑1

I agree it could use some workshopping, but its still wonderful to behold.

@hayleygirl67

3y↑61

could you imagine a mashup of this song and "Come Back" from Dogfight? Oh my goodness I'd be a puddle of tears.

@LLyonWildlife

3y↑5

Oh my god I can’t believe I’m not the Only one who thought that would be an incredible mashup!

@liz5034

3y↑38

james nathan hopkins didnt have to go that hard, but he did that 🙌🏻

@briannakadlecik1903

2y↑1

So incredibly beautiful!

@jaytagle

3y↑20

I just met Laura like 10 mins ago here in Kelowna BC. She’s the sweetest human being!! ❤️

@annedekker8363

2y↑48

I never really got the part about Jimmy until I found a deleted scene that made clear he is gay and lost his partner in the war. It makes so much sense now that his part is strangely vague compared to the others. His story couldn’t be told without endangering him

@natdawson5741

2y↑14

"Lives to tell of things no one could bear to know"

@zorro......

2y↑5

i cant find this deleted scene anywhere even though i remember seeing it :( i wonder why it was deleted at all

@hopoffmydick9574

1y↑2

holy shit I just found this out oh my god????? Looking for this scene rn brb

@DatNinjaCow03

1y↑4

Donny's tags falling out of his shirt by the end of the song is always such a good little detail I'm glad I've noticed. It just,,,, I dunno I feel like there is a lot of symbolism in it that I can't find a way to articulate.