Brian Vander Ark

We Were Never The Same

Brian Vander Ark


God saved the queen, 
but he left you a dream
With your brave stuffed 
in bellies of ships 
that drifted in

The gate to the west 
was wide open
This promised land 
seemed an infinite land
And we nestled ourselves 
in your arms 
and the warmth of your skin
And that great western plain 
was never the same again

It took years 
to adjust to our freedom
The young and the proud, 
how we wondered aloud
About brotherly love 
and then push 
comes to shove once again
No death in vain
But we were never 
the same again

The sweat and the tears 
of the formative years
The highways 
were veins pumping life 
to remains of the land
A new era began

They caught you in bed 
with Miss Fortune
Poverty bound you were 
stripped of your crown
All the storms 
had been weathered
It brought us together again
And then September came
And we were never 
the same again

Centuries passed 
and you're still just a girl
But this last generation's 
not long for this world
Who would rather remember 
the 12th of September
We're all patriots 
when the orange 
of the embers still glow
I think that you know

That I'm telling you this 
'cause I love you
I love that you're proud
But you're also too loud
So bring it down 
to a whisper
And wait for the world 
to lean in

And the home of the brave
Is etched 
on the graves again

Remember their names
We were never the same