Name: Watching Myself Watch My Son
Duration: P00H03M03S
Description: From December 1938 until the start of the war, Jewish parents sent ten thousand children through the Kindertransport program to the relative safety of Great Britain. In this song, a Jewish parent in Germany says goodbye to a son boarding a train on his way to live with a family in England. The parent is confronted with a kaleidoscope of emotions after the child’s departure.

Brendan Nolan - Watching Myself Watch My Son

from Beneath White Stars: Holocaust Profiles in Song by Various Artists

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about

From December 1938 until the start of the war, Jewish parents sent ten thousand children through the Kindertransport program to the relative safety of Great Britain. In this song, a Jewish parent in Germany says goodbye to a son boarding a train on his way to live with a family in England. The parent is confronted with a kaleidoscope of emotions after the child’s departure.

lyrics

I watched myself watch my son
Board a train to England
Cardboard draped round his neck
Identity number written

My hands cradled his bowed head
My mouth asked God to bless him
Keep him close, grant him peace
So far away from Essen

I left him there as we were told
Instructed not to cry
I heard myself say I’d soon come
My lips then said good-bye

I felt my legs walk me away
They took me to our home
The silence of his bedroom
Told me I was alone

The weeks endured, his letter came
He’s well but hoped I’d follow
Our Kinder turned into letters
My heart felt full yet hollow

My eyes reread his words
Lips blessed a distant stranger
Though out of sight I felt a light
That kept him far from danger

I watched myself watch my son
Board a train to England

credits

from Beneath White Stars: Holocaust Profiles in Song, released July 20, 2022
Music by: Brendan Nolan
Lyrics by: Holly Mandelkern

Vocals and guitar: Brendan Nolan

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Beneath White Stars Winter Park, Florida

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