Derik Nelson's
moving performance of his heartfelt song, "Phone Call",
that is in tribute to the families impacted by the
September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks . . . should grab
every American's heart... reminding all how very personal
this tragic day was and will remain! David Bancroft, USA Patriotism! founder
(August 2011)
Derik Nelson Explains Why He
Wrote... "Phone
Call"
August 11, 2011
With next month being the 10th anniversary of September 11, 2001, I deemed it appropriate to share with
you an original song I wrote as a tribute to the
families affected by the tragic events that happened
that day.
My inspiration for the song came a
few years ago on September 11th, 2007. I got home
from school and turned the TV on, and remember
watching a memorial program that featured personal
accounts and stories about 9/11. One story in
particular that really struck me was centered around
the phone calls being made by passengers in the
planes to their loved ones back at home. There was
something so desperately honest in the voices
captured on those chilling, garbled clips of
voicemails and recorded phone calls... It broke my
heart.
It reminded me that above the
politics, the war, the terror, and all the
conspiracy theories, there were families being torn
apart, and real husbands, wives, sons, daughters,
mothers, and fathers having to say "I love you" for
the last time. I was compelled to tell a story
(albeit not a happy one) about such a situation in
which a passenger on a plane has to say goodbye to
his young son.
This song (until now) sat on
the shelf ever since. I only performed it once. A
few weeks ago, I realized we were coming up on the
10th anniversary of 9/11 and got the idea to film a
video of the song. After revisiting it and
discussing it with a close friend of mine, I came to
the realization that the story wasn't over. I told
the story of September 11, 2001, but what about
September 11, 2011?
I wrote the end verse
just a few short weeks ago, and finally gave such a
sad story the silver lining it deserves. Because
9/11 affected the United States (and the world) on
such a large scale, I fear that people might lose
sight of just how far the destructive ripples from
the events of that day can extend. My hope is that
listeners will be reminded of the important things
in life... Love of all kinds, and the sacred
fragility of a family.
Thank you for
listening, watching, and supporting. Please share
this with someone you love.
Derik
P.S.
Thank you to my wonderful brother, Dalten, for doing
such a beautiful job filming and editing this video.
LYRICS
VERSE ONE He falls asleep without
a sound His plane's a long way from the ground
And he's gone, for just a few days, he's gone
He's dreaming of his little boy His heart so
young, so full of joy But it's wrong, something's
all wrong, it's wrong
He opens his eyes for
the first time There's panic and noise everywhere
The captain's voice cuts through the speakers The
tragic news filling the air
VERSE TWO
"This won't be easy I'm afraid Folks, this is
hard for me to say We're going down, we're going
down"
The phone is ringing back at home
He's breathing deep, he's breathing slow As he
tries to keep it together, he tries
He says
"son, can I please talk to mommy I just need a
minute or two" As he hears "I ate all of my
vegetables, dad So I can be strong just like you"
"Go get mom for me, please" "But dad, she's
already asleep"
BRIDGE "Then tell her that
I'll wait to see her soon Tell her that I'll wait
for her to find me Tell her I'll be with her,
every minute, every hour, every day I'm leaving,
but I know you'll be okay" "No dad don't go, I
love you, can't you stay"
CODA Ten years
can slip by in what seems like an hour The fights
of our fathers fall into our hands We haven't yet
forgotten, and we haven't yet forgiven And I'm
not saying that we ever can But when all's said
and done, what you spend, what you save You can't
take it with you on your judgment day So divided
we fall, and we fell like a stone But united we
stand, so don't leave me standing alone
Phone Call
