Kingdom Come - Judy Collins

It was seven months since 9/11

And the work was almost done

It was seven months since 9/11

And the work had just begun

Ground Zero lit the evening sky

Like a beacon through the heart

The searchlights drove through Heaven’s doors

And blew them far apart

A few miles north on the Hudson River

We had gathered for a sort of wake

Nobody felt like celebrating

But the Firemen needed some kind of break

They’d been to so many funerals

And seen so many God-awful sights

They’d been to Ground Zero from dawn to dusk

And round the clock some nights

To Kingdom come, to hell and gone

To somewhere far away

Where murder doesn’t break the heart

On a sunny day

I was all dressed up like the rest of the crowd

At the Roxy Club that night

The men and women in Uniform

Tried hard to keep it light

Kevin Bacon played and sang

And folks began to smile

Chris Bodi played his silver horn

With rhythm and with style

I sang my song Amazing Grace

And people laughed and cried

Ronan Tynan sang Danny Boy and

Not an eye was dry

Steve Buscemi spoke of life

At Engine 55

Of how these heroes

Stayed the course and

Saved so many lives

To Kingdom come, to hell and gone

To somewhere far away

Where murder doesn’t break the heart

On a sunny day

A burly man with a handsome face

Stuck out his hand and smiled

Say, meet my wife, we like your songs

We’ve been with you mile for mile

Though he had a rugged face

I knew I saw the hurt

Then he pointed to a spot above the collar of his shirt

Just look here on the back of my neck

There’s a tattoo, can you see?

Just right here, I got up close

And saw the number 343

The number of the Firemen

Who were lost upon that day

The numbers of those heroes

Ground Zero was their grave

To Kingdom come, to hell and gone

To somewhere far away

Where murder doesn’t break the heart

On a sunny day

Those firemen loaded up with gear

Climbed to their death’s that day

Along with all the other hundreds

Blasted on their way

Police and EMS and those

On whom death took its toll

And more whose dreams will never dawn

More than three thousand souls

I left the party after that

I could not stay my tears

For all our gifts for all our hopes

For all our nameless fears

For all our heroes, men and women

Lost on that black day

Those firemen with courage

In their hearts so strong and brave

Who made sure in their final hours

There were 30,000 saved

They’ve gone to where there are no tears

And every heart is gay

And they won’t be forgotten on a sunny day

To Kingdom come, to hell and gone

To somewhere far away

Where murder doesn’t break the heart

On a sunny day

Where murder doesn’t break the heart

On a sunny day