Van of Valor

Get Up Soldier from Baghdad sands to Summerville

Get Up, Soldier

(Verse 1)

Baghdad sand, two-thousand-four, the heat wave

A Nissan creepin’ to the Green Zone gave

A bad vibe, slowin’ down the pace, a new phase

Platoon Sergeant Gay, “Wild Bunch” raised

Checkpoint procedures, searchin’ slow and thorough

The rhythm was different, providin’ a miracle

They yelled to stop, the threat got brazen

Then the world went silent, a thunderous blazin’

A thousand pounds of hell tore the sky apart

The pressure, the fire, the shrapnel dart

Eighty souls lost, a terrible cost

In the smoke and the dust, a leader was tossed

(Chorus)

GET UP, SOLDIER, from the ashes rise

See the pain in the mirror, through your own two eyes

With a Purple Heart bleedin’ and a spirit that’s torn

You carry the weight of the day you were reborn

GET UP, SOLDIER, the battle ain’t done

From the Green Zone blast to the rise of the sun

Now you’re fightin’ for your brothers on a different front line

With faith as your weapon, say “this burden is mine”

(Verse 2)

Wakin’ from the black, hear the families weepin’

The vision of the flames, a permanent searin’

Traumatic brain, the invisible scar

Twenty years later, you still wonder who you are

But a voice in the rubble, clear and true

Said “Get up, soldier, you got work to do”

Now he rocks the chaplain’s cross, a different kind of steel

Dealin’ with his own P.T.S.D., showin’ wounds are real

Weekly at the V.A., he downloads the pain

Tellin’ vets, “Don’t let the darkness rule your brain”

“Have your moments, have your minutes, shed a tear”

“But take your day back, conquer the fear”

(Chorus)

GET UP, SOLDIER, from the ashes rise

See the pain in the mirror, through your own two eyes

With a Purple Heart bleedin’ and a spirit that’s torn

You carry the weight of the day you were reborn

GET UP, SOLDIER, the battle ain’t done

From the Green Zone blast to the rise of the sun

Now you’re fightin’ for your brothers on a different front line

With faith as your weapon, say “this burden is mine”

(Bridge)

Look back at the blast, the reason he survived

The slow-walkin’ rhythm, the discipline thrived

The bomber’s plan crumbled, the timing was thrown

Saved lives in the palace, made the unknown known

That professionalism, that infantry pride

That’s the reason “The Wild Bunch” are still standin’ side-by-side

From Natchitoches Louisiana, to a Summerville call

He’s part of somethin’ bigger, standin’ tall for all