The Shattering of Camelot
A nation held its breath and watched
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The Shattering of Camelot
[instrumental intro]
[Verse 1]
Friday in November, the Texas sun was high
Motorcade was smiling, waving goodbye
Children lined the sidewalks, flags in tiny hands
Dreaming of a kingdom in a young and hopeful land
Jackie wore pink Chanel, the color of the rose
The wind played with her hair the way the whole world knows
He turned to wave once more, then the echoes cracked the sky
And Camelot came tumbling down before our very eyes
[Chorus]
Oh, the shattering of Camelot
The day the music died
A nation held its breath and watched
A young king crucified
Jackie held the pieces of the man she loved so well
While the world stood still and broke
Inside that Dallas hell
[Verse 2]
Little Caroline knelt beside her bed that night
Praying Daddy’s somewhere riding horses in the light
John-John saluted as the casket rolled on by
Three years old and already learning how to cry
From Harlem to the heartland, church bells tolled in pain
Strangers wept together in the cold November rain
Walter Cronkite’s glasses couldn’t hide the tears he fought
When he told a billion people what the cruel day had brought
[Chorus]
Oh, the shattering of Camelot
A flame went dark too soon
The eternal light still burns for you
Beneath an August moon
Jackie walked in silence, veil against the wind
Carrying the weight of where the world had been
[instrumental solo]
[Bridge – half-time, soft organ swell]
We thought the story would go on
A thousand nights, a thousand dawns
But stories sometimes break in two
When rifles speak and dreams bleed through
[Verse 3 – quieter, almost whispered]
Sixty-two years later, the echoes still won’t fade
Every schoolchild knows the motorcade
We still search the Zapruder film for reasons we can’t find
Looking for the moment that stole the peace of mind
Jackie’s grace in pink and black became our sacred frame
A widow far too young to carry all that pain
Yet she held the children close and taught them how to stand
While the shattered pieces of Camelot slipped through America’s hands
[Final Chorus – full band, soaring harmonies]
Oh, the shattering of Camelot
Still aching in our soul
We lost the best of what we dreamed
We’d never be so bold
But every time we dare to hope
We hear that young voice call
“Ask not what your country can do”
And Camelot rises after all
[Outro – fading, gentle guitar arpeggios]
Ask not… ask not…
The flame still burns
In Arlington…
Camelot… returns…
[instrumental outro]
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