Happy Memorial Day!

In the midst of our celebrations and festivities today, may we remember what this day is for:  honoring those who lost their lives so that we could live in freedom.

Our church had a wonderful Memorial Day service last night.  It was filled with patriotic songs, stories of our country's Christian heritage, and a review of some of the different battles that have been fought.  It was wonderful to see so many of the teens in our church involved...what a testimony they have! :)  We also played a video that talked all about the different memorials in Washington, DC.  Then the trio I'm involved in sang a song called "Row Upon Row" while pictures were shown of Arlington National Cemetery and other monuments and memorials from past wars.  I think the lyrics of this song really capture what this holiday is about, so I thought I'd share them with you:

Have you ever been to Arlington
Where tombstones stand row upon row?
Great soldiers turned to granite ghosts
Harboring invincible souls.

Their sacrifice of flesh and blood
Lay buried deep in freedom's sod.
Brave hearts who will never know
The solemn honor we bestow
Row upon row upon row upon row.

(Chorus)
Let freedom ring
Let the nation sing
Till the whole earth knows
How proud we are
Of each row upon row upon row upon row.

The earth lays still at Arlington
Where tombstones stand row upon row.
And the flag flies
Proudly in the skies.

Oh let this scene forever stand
Reminding us what we've been given.
We hold these lost in high esteem
The pave the road to all our dreams
Row upon row upon row upon row.

(Repeat Chorus)

Let freedom ring
Join hands and sing
Till the multitude grows
One by one, row upon row upon row upon row.
One by one, row upon row upon row upon row.

I'm pretty sure this song was written by Kara Williamson-Tualatai (I don't have my sheet music with me anymore, so I had to do some research online).  If you'd like an idea of how it sounds, I've included a link to the YouTube video HERE. (You'll have to mute my blog music to listen, because it will open in a new window...sorry about that!)

Our version didn't sound quite the same.  We sang it with just piano and toned down the contemporary style of the singing a bit (which was good because I cannot sing like that and make it sound pleasant!). :}  We wanted it to be appropriate for our very conservative church (and personally, I liked it a little better without the electric guitars and heavy drumbeat in the background...although I wish we'd had the marching drumbeat at the beginning and ending for ours too). ;)  Regardless, I hope you enjoy the song and that it helps you remember the fallen on this special day. :)