A tribute to Captain Chesley B Sullenberger III and the crew of Flight 1549
rock
acoustic
vic
lewis
Story behind the song
Suggested topic in Guitarnoise's Sunday Songwriters Group - write a song about a real-life hero.
Lyrics
1549 was a routine flight, La Guardia to Charlotte NC,
No one knew they'd never arrive, but they'd go down in history,
"It's looking good, let's take her out," the Captain said to the tower,
They took off just as smooth as silk, all systems go, full power....
They'd been in the air just a minute or two, when they hit a flock of geese,
A sharp collective intake of breath was heard, as the noise from the engines ceased,
The captain wasn't fazed one bit, as the plane began to descend,
He'd been flying for over forty years, and he knew this wasn't the day it'd end....
He kept his cool, he knew what to do, a seasoned veteran in command,
He weighed the options, one by one, there had to be somewhere to land,
The Hudson River loomed up in front, a last ditch emergency site,
But the odds were still stacked way high, against anyone surviving the flight...
Captain Chesley never wavered at all, aimed straight for the water below,
He knew he had to bring her in just right, the margin for error was zero,
"Brace for impact," he told the passengers, as he held their lives in his hands,
He couldn't have landed any smoother, if it'd been the way he planned....
One hundred and fifty souls were saved, by a man who did what he had to do,
He laughed it off, quite modestly, and shared the credit among the crew,"
Not a life was lost, everyone was saved, although the river was cold as hell,
Saved by a man who kept his head, did his job and did it well....
Captain Chesley, we salute you, an all-American hero,
You're a modest man, but without your skill, their hopes were less than zero,
You held your nerve and you brought them down, you didn't lose a single soul,
1549 may not have been on time, but there's a lot of stories still going to be told....
Last man to leave, he even went back, to make sure everyone was OK,
Not once but twice, to make doubly sure, that no-one was left on the plane,
The rescue boats came in record time, took everybody to the shore,
And all those survivors'll never forget, Cap'n Sully, that's for sure!