Dit lied is opgedragen aan mijn vader die tijdens de Tweede Wereld Oorlog als krijgsgevangene in de kolenmijnen van Kyushu te Japan moest werken.
Hij vertelde er nooit over en ik moest verhalen uit hem trekken.
Vele jaren later ontmoette ik andere zonen wiens vaders ook in de kolenmijnen van Kyushu als krijgsgevangene hadden gewerkt.
We ontmoeten elkaar nog steeds .
De laatste keer was te Bronbeek in Arnhem op zaterdag 23 oktober 2010 j.l.
Dit lied is verder opgedragen aan allen die in het verleden, heden en toekomst als krijgsgevangene hebben moeten zwoegen, nog moeten zwoegen of zullen moeten zwoegen.
Het is ook opgedragen aan hun vrouwen, kinderen, familie en iedereen die hen dierbaar is.
Lees het hele verhaal door op de link te klikken:
http://www.ronlindeman.com/pow.html
Father I never thought of you a hero
A brave man is a man
Who conquers his own fears
A broken man is someone
Who drowns in his own tears
I quess war was raging
In your heart and in your soul
I quess memories forgotten
Still played a prominent role
Father I never thought of you as a hero
I always thought of you a working man
You must have been so lonely
You must have been a lonely man
There is a man in a uniform
There is a man with a gun
I can see him on photograph
I can see him firing his gun
There is a soldier taken prisoner
There is a prisoner of war
I can see him in a prison camp
I can see him lying on the floor
Father I never thought of you as a hero
I never knew you were so brave
The things you cannot talk about
Are the things that lay asleep
As the soldiers you buried
In the turmoils of your soul
There is a prisoner working the coalmines
There is a soldier digging the graves
I can see him struggling to surivive
He’s got one foot in his grave
The day the enemy surrendered
Was the day he returned home
Finding his loved ones dead or missing
Finding he didn’t have a home
These are the things you don’t wanna remember
Memories you choose to forget
It are the dead you carry within you
The souls that didn’t live
To experience their freedom
The joy they didn’t get
From the coalmines of Kyushu
You returned to a free life
But inside of you lies hidden
The path of painful strides
It is a road that leads to darkness
Like a blanket soaked with sadness
Covering your weary mind
Covering your weary mind
Every day you lived in freedom
Was a day that you survived
I can understand your secret
Through the darkness of the night
I quess that with your last breath
You would go into the light
You would go into the light
A brave man is a man
Who conquers his own fears
A father is someone
Who dries all your tears
I quess war was still raging
In your heart and in your soul
I quess memories forgotten
Still play a prominent role
Father I never thought of you a hero
I never knew you were so brave
The things you cannot talk about
Are the things that lay asleep
As the soldiers you buried
In the turmoils of your soul
A brave man is a man
Who conquers his own fears
A brave man is a man
Who conquers his own fears
Written by Ron Lindeman October 2010
Copyright Ron Lindeman
Ron Lindeman op akoestische gitaar, elektrische gitaar, percussie en vocals