The Second Call For Billy Ray

The Second Call for Billy Ray


Heal thyself, it's often been said
But how, when one's half dead
A brave man's uniform hangs on the line
The wind is his voice, he speaks through the whine

I knew he'd served in the army before
And I knew he was broken by that war
But I was never told until to day
About a boy named Billy Ray

He was just eighteen; they brought him in
Bleeding profusely  from foot to chin
Dancing with death while cursing in pain
His screams to be saved all were in vein

The doctor tried as best he could
But Billy's fate was understood
He worked on him until the end
They never saw the doc again

The death of Billy was a crushing blow
He blamed himself, and he couldn't  let go
Haunted by the death of a very young man
He gave up the practice and turned to the land

Our story picks up near an old southern town
Where a crippled physician was working the ground
He lived in these parts for at least thirty years
The local people wondered, why he was here?

Rising each morning to the sounds in the air
Living a simple life without any care
Tending his a garden he was healing fast
But tragedy was lurking ; it wouldn't last

Neighbors to the north went to town that day
Left their son home, thought it better that way
Never did they think of a possible fire
As their son was trapped in a funeral pyre

The boy escaped to the second floor
And screamed for help, above the  roar
The Doc stood petrified when he heard that cry
It reminded him of  Billy before he died

Deja  vu had consumed his mind
But he had to act fast with so little time
If this was the last  he ever did
He was going to give all and save this kid

The fire was ragging from the exploding gas
The boy was screaming and he wouldn't last
If he could just make it to the second floor
He would save a life and maybe one more

With god speed he found the top of the stairs
His heart was inflamed but no time to care
One scared kid was flirting with death
This was his purpose, the only thing left

He found the boy in a burning room
Lowered him down with a makeshift boom
Then a crushing  pain exploded deep inside
He gave his life to keep a young boy alive

Do you believe in a second chance
To live once again to know romance
And if you do then listen well
To the final thought that I shall tell

The whine in the wind is his voice that I hear
And now at eighteen it's all quite clear
He tells me he's sorry for the first time I died
But quite happy this time that I'm alive
,

I am Billy Ray