Arizona Tears

ARIZONA TEARS
Tim Stafford (2004)


These tears flow up, they don’t fall down
They come to sea and float to ground
Floating to an unheard song
And it won’t stop until the last one’s gone
Trailing gently in the flow
Cried by sailors far below

Since December ’41, they’re sleeping there forever young
In a rusty iron bed
Their only thought was life ahead
Never thought they’d spend their years crying Arizona tears

Three brothers came to Newport yard
Leaving home was awful hard
They came together all the way
Singapore to Mandalay
But their trial was just begun come December ‘41

Two were fore, the other aft
Only one survived the blast
Held apart for 80 years
While history shed her oily tears

You see the names there on the wall
1177 in all
I wonder what would I have done?
Like so many father’s sons
When the world came crashing down
Say a prayer before you drown

Every year, another urn
Is lowered where no fires burn
Since December 7, ‘41
Every sailor has returned

They lowered him to sea today
To sleep inside that rusty grave
All three together finally home
The last tear floated in the foam

These tears float up, they don’t fall down
© 2020, Daniel House Music, BMI