A narration to accompany the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra performing John Williams’ Hymn to the Fallen for the 4th of July celebration on the World’s Fair Site in 2017.




Hymn to the Fallen (6:05)

:24 - 1:33  
Let us sing a hymn to those who have fallen, to those who won’t be coming home. 
Those who were here among us, who are part of us, and now are gone. 
Who served this country, this nation, this people and gave their lives in that service. 
Who rushed forward to defend us when we were threatened. 
Who stood up for us, who took our part, and were taken from us. 
They are not forgotten. As we celebrate our independence and our freedom, 
Let us sing a hymn to the fallen, a hymn of praise and thanks, 
For there is an empty chair at every table, and this is who we are.

1:33 - 1:45 (break)

1:45 - 2:36   
What is this freedom that men and women are willing to die for?
Freedom to live, to work, to worship, to celebrate.
Free to be with the ones we love.
Free to follow the spirit as we perceive the spirit.
To grow our family, our garden, our city, our souls.

How precious these freedoms must appear to those
Who live in fear and persecution. 
Who have watched their loved ones murdered,
Their religions oppressed,
Their homes and villages, towns and cities demolished,
Their way of life vanquished. 
How precious indeed these freedoms 

2:36 - 2:43 (break)

2:43 - 3:55  
We sing this hymn to the fallen, but they have a prayer for us too.
Their prayer is that we do not abuse their sacrifice.
Or carelessly misuse their allegiance for some purpose unworthy of their courage.
This is our duty to them and to the country we hold dear. 
Let us not forget that when we persecute people here, we violate the trust of the fallen.
When we hinder the pursuit of happiness for others, we dishonor their sacrifice.
When we allow this to be a land for only the few and not the many then we have
Let our guard down, we have allowed freedom to be robbed from our fold.
Then we have forgotten what they died for, a dream beyond our day to day prejudices. 
A dream of justice and freedom for all, a dream worth dying for. 

3:55 - 5:00 (KSO break)

5:01 - 5:45
And now they rest. They rest in peace.
They have fought the battle. 
They stood together and they held. 
Let them rest now and know we are safe.
And know we are grateful. 
And know that we stand guard even at this hour.
We celebrate them in our hearts,
And our hearts are strong because of them. 
And we sing this hymn to the fallen.