Its January 1970, do you remember me
You put me on a boat across the sea, in the name of victory
But much to my surprised when I arrived, there was no welcoming committee
Instead there was a man for me to kill, and now I see how this is all too real

Then I saw him standing with a bayonet
And as I ran towards him he hardly broke a sweat
When I took his life he fell to his knees
And as his eyes began to fade he whispered softly

Godspeed this letter, away from here
I've sealed it with my tears, and stamped it with my fists
And godspeed this letter, away from you
My work down here is through
I'm on my way to better days
And so are you

I'm in his pocket that I saw the picture of his children and his family
And I began to realize this person I despised, in actuality
Was not much different from myself
We probably could have taught each other many things
And now I know its much too late although I couldn't hesitate
I checked his gun, and his chamber was empty

Then I saw him standing with a bayonet
And as I ran towards him he hardly broke a sweat
When I took his life he fell to his knees
And as his eyes began to fade he whispered softly

Godspeed this letter, away from here
I've sealed it with my tears, and stamped it with my fists
And godspeed this letter, away from you
My work down here is through
I'm on my way to better days
And so are you

We know not what we've done
And
We know not what we've done

Godspeed this letter, away from here
I've sealed it with my tears, and stamped it with my fists
And godspeed this letter, away from you
My work down here is through
I'm on my way to better days
And so are you


Lyrics submitted by AndrewOATH

Godspeed Lyrics as written by Ronnie Winter

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

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Godspeed song meanings
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    General Comment

    Alrite i think its a Christian song with secret meaning. Becasue when Jesus was being killed he never fought back just like the man in the song and he wasnt rude to him when he did take his life, just like Jesus wasnt, and then he says "Godspeed this letter" and the letter probably represents the gospel and he said "my work down here is done, im off to better days and so are you" which means his work on earth is done phsically like Jesus and hes Off to better days, like meaning hes going to heaven and hes saying the man that killed him will also have a good life and be in heaven soon too. And then he goes on to mention that they were a like and could have taught eachother a lot and Jesus was also a lot liek us being human and still having feelings like us. and then he mentions how he went to check on him and his chamber was empty!! just like how when people went to go check on Jesus his tomb was empty. And the main part is when the lyrics go "We know not what we've done And, oh, we know not what we've done" becuase Jesus said in the Bible before he died to God that we know not what we've done. So theres a lot of Christian meaning to this song just put into a different kinda story. But the meaning and point is still the same.. Great song, Love it.. Lol awesome band too. Wow i wrote a lot!

    Honey3on April 28, 2009   Link

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