This is the music video of a song by country singer Trace Adkins called “Arlington”. “We made it to Arlington” is the last line of the chorus. Would that make it a sad song or an exhilarating tune?
There are two possibilities. First of all a hardcore horseplayer would think that Arlington referred to Arlington Racecourse in the Chicago area. To be able to make it to the home of the Arlington Million would stir lots of excitement in hardcore horseracing fans. But if we listen more carefully, phrases like “rest in peace”, “twenty-one guns”, and “dust to dust” would lead us to the Arlington National Cemetery, a US military cemetery for fallen soldiers on 624 acres in Virginia.
Arlington here is the national cemetery and the song was inspired by a US Marine Corporal Patrick Ray Nixon. Cpl Nixon was one of 18 marines killed in Iraq in 2003 when they were caught in the line of fire between air support and enemy insurgents who launched an ambush. The lyrics are told in the viewpoint of a soldier killed in action and buried at Arlington.
This is one powerful song and music video. Check it out! It is a very sad song with a good melody and Trace Adkins’ delivery is perfect for the message’s conveyance. The message is sadness and the debt of honor we owe our soldiers. As Trace Adkins stated, this was not a political statement. What do you think?