Hope and Mercy
Words and Music by Robert Wynne
© 2001

September 11, 2001

The world around me has gone mad
I cannot find the words
To make sense out of anything at all

I feel so helpless and confused
So powerless and small
If anyone is there to hear my call

Hope and mercy
For this alone we pray
Send us strength from somewhere
To make it through this day

Faith and courage
To help us through the night
And draw us all together
To set the world to right

I know I cannot save the world
Not by myself alone
I’m not even sure how to survive

Please tell me there is still a chance
A reason to go on
There must be hope as long as we’re alive

CHORUS

So at last we come together
To comfort and to grieve
And lean upon each other in our fears

But dawn will bring a new day
And together we will strive
To build a new tomorrow without tears

CHORUS

While I did write this song on September 11, it’s not really about the terrible events of that day. One of the first reactions I saw to the events on rec.music.filk was someone who said, “I shall write songs of vengence tonight.”

This struck me as…the wrong approach somehow, and I got to thinking about how communities, such as ours, come together to face adversity. No matter what tries to divide us, we know we can build a better tomorrow together, because we will always have each other. This is a song about coming together and dealing with adversity as a community.

This song was published with sheet music in “September 11, 2001 – A Memorial Songbook.”