Saturday, February 12, 2005

"The Mansions of the Lord": haunting hymn to the fallen

Those of you who were in our home Monday night heard Col Ted Parsons, USAF, recount his recent experiences as a trauma surgeon and deputy commander of a field hospital in Balad, Iraq. You also saw and heard his moving memorial to the wounded. The musical background for his presentation was "The Mansions of the Lord" from the We Were Soldiers soundtrack. It was also performed at the conclusion of President Reagan's funeral at the National Cathedral. Music by Nick Glennie-Smith is here. Words by Randall Wallace are here:

The Mansions of the Lord

To fallen soldiers let us sing
Where no rockets fly nor bullets wing
Our broken brothers let us bring
To the Mansions of the Lord

No more bleeding, no more fight
No prayers pleading through the night
Just divine embrace, eternal light
To the Mansions of the Lord.

Where no mothers cry and no children weep
We will stand and guard though the angels sleep
Through the ages safely keep
The Mansions of the Lord.

2 Comments:

Blogger Garry Wilmore said...

This piece was played as a recessional at the Reagan funeral service in the National Cathedral, and I remember how it moved me as I watched the ceremony on television. I wondered if it was some stately high-church hymn that was rarely played or sung nowadays; but a few days later, I learned that it was from that movie, and I immediately bought the soundtrack. It seemed so appropriate for Reagan's funeral; and I wish I could have been there with you at home with you on Monday, as it provided backgound music for that presentation. Thanks for sharing this with the rest of us.

10:55 AM  
Blogger Unknown said...

..now also known as 'The REAGAN Recessional' Hymn and can be heard being stirringly sung at the end of your Tour of REAGAN Presidential Library..

8:36 PM  

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