I Remember
Griffin House Lyrics

Well, my grandpa fought in World War 2, my uncle fought in ?Nam
The singer's grandpa and uncle served in different wars.

My father was too young, he went to school and met my mom
The singer's father did not serve in a war due to being too young and instead met the singer's mother in school.

And her dad always told us stories around dinner time
The singer's mother's father would tell stories during family dinners.

And there's one he told when I was young that sticks out in my mind
One of the grandfather's stories stands out to the artist in his/her memory.

He said, 10 years after daddy taught me about the birds and bees
The grandfather starts a story by mentioning his own father.

I was stranded in Pearl Harbor fighting off the Japanese
The grandfather was fighting in Pearl Harbor during a Japanese attack.

When the kamikaze pilots came and dove in without warning
The attack included kamikaze pilots who attacked without warning.

I was on the Arizona on a warm December morning
The grandfather was on the battleship Arizona during the attack.

I remember when I was a younger man
The artist remembers his own youth.

We were solders fighting in a foreign land
The artist fought in a war in another country.

Now I'm older and it?s happening again
The singer sees similar events happening again in the present.

It was hard to have forgiveness for the things they did that day
The artist found it difficult to forgive events from the war.

And our president decided we should make their people pay
The singer comments on the president's decision to retaliate for the war.

So we dropped on Nagasaki and we cut them down to size
The US dropped a bomb on Nagasaki as a military action.

And the one we dropped on Hiroshima left them vaporized
The bomb dropped on Hiroshima had devastating effects.

And I heard some Christians say
The artist comments on Christian beliefs he/she has heard.

What would Jesus do?
The Christians in question ask themselves what Jesus would do in the situation.

What if you were on the wrong side
The singer questions what would happen if someone were fighting for the wrong side.

Would he point the gun at you?
The singer wonders if Jesus would use deadly force in such situations.

And they read through every word of Matthew, Mark and Luke and John
The Christians in question read through the Gospels to seek guidance on war and killing.

So they could see if killing was the side that Christ was on
The Christians in question were looking for guidance on whether Jesus would support killing.

And they separate the church and state and keep God out of schools
The artist notes that religion is kept separate from the state and out of schools in the US.

So our governments can educate based upon their rules
The singer comments on the educational system in the US being based on government rules.

But people start to wonder if our politics make sense
The artist notes that some people are questioning the logic of US politics.

When religion is our best excuse for national defense
The singer observes that religion is often used as an excuse for US military actions.

And when our citizens start saying that our wars are not okay
The singer notes that some US citizens oppose their country's military actions.

And Washington keeps telling them, ?God loves the USA?
The singer comments on the contradictory messages being sent by the US government and its use of religion to justify its actions.

And they teach us history so we can learn from our mistakes
The artist comments on the purpose of learning history is to avoid repeating past mistakes.

And this generation wants to know how many years it takes
The current generation wants to know how long it will take to prevent war from recurring.

To change the way we treat our neighbors all across the land
The singer urges a change in how people treat each other across different regions.

?Cause if we don't change our hearts, we repeat the past again
The singer warns that failure to change behavior will result in the same mistakes being made in the future.

When my grandpa finished talking, we went walking he and I
The artist's grandpa finishes his story and the two go for a walk.

I was thinking of the future and how scared I was to die
The artist is thinking of his own mortality.

Now my best friend?s overseas in the desert where it?s dry
The artist's friend is currently serving in a desert region overseas.

Fighting for our country and I need a reason why
The singer contemplates the reasons for his friend's participation in the war.

Now we're older, God bring him home again
The artist ends with a prayer for his friend's safe return home.