The Weight Of The Badge – English Lyrics

• By: George Strait

Lyrics & Translation

[English]

- [FEMALE OFFICE] SECURE!

HIT!

(METAL CLANKING)

- YOU HAVE PEOPLE THAT ARE GOING OUT

AND DOING A JOB TO DEFEND THEIR COMMUNITIES.

AND YOU KNOW IN THE BACK OF THE MIND

OF EVERY ONE OF THOSE OFFICERS,

ONE OF THEM MIGHT NOT BE GOING HOME.

AND WE HAVE SEEN, I'VE SEEN IT THROUGHOUT MY CAREER,

I'VE SEEN IT HERE LOCALLY,

WHERE A POLICE OFFICER DIDN'T GO HOME.

THEY KISSED THEIR LOVED ONES GOODBYE

AND THAT WAS THE LAST TIME THEY SAW 'EM.

AND SOMETIMES I DON'T THINK WE REALIZE

THE IMPACT

[MUSIC UNDER SPEAKER] THAT THIS JOB HAS HAD ON OUR FAMILIES,

LET ALONE OURSELVES.

THAT'S A HEAVY WEIGHT.

THAT'S THE HEAVY WEIGHT OF THE BADGE.

♪ IT'S GONNA BE A LONG ONE ♪

♪ ANOTHER GRAVEYARD SHIFT ♪

♪ AS HE SAYS GOODBYE TO HIS WIFE AND KIDS ♪

♪ HE SPENDS HIS LIFE JUST LIKE HIS DAD'S ♪

♪ DRIVING AWAY UNDER THE WEIGHT OF THE BADGE ♪

♪ HE'S SEEN IT ALL IN HIS FIFTEEN YEARS ♪

♪ WATCHING OUR BACKS, FACING OUR FEARS ♪

♪ LORD KNOWS IT AIN'T NO EASY TASK ♪

♪ KEEPING US SAFE UNDER THE WEIGHT OF THE BADGE ♪

♪ HE SWORE THAT OATH TO PROTECT AND SERVE ♪

♪ POURS HIS HEART AND SOUL INTO BOTH THOSE WORDS ♪

♪ LAYS HIS LIFE ON THE LINE ♪

♪ THE LINE HE WALKS IS RAZOR FINE ♪

- EVERY TIME HE GOES I'M ALWAYS LIKE

"CALL ME OR TEXT ME WHEN YOU LEAVE,"

BECAUSE I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE HE'S OKAY

BECAUSE I KNOW THAT IT'S A POSSIBILITY

THAT HE MAY NOT BE SOME TIME.

THAT'S THE BIGGEST WEIGHT

AND I FEEL LIKE A LOT OF TIMES WHEN HE LEAVES

AND I GIVE HIM A HUG AND A KISS, GOODBYE,

I ALWAYS HOLD ONTO HIM FOR AN EXTRA COUPLE OF SECONDS,

JUST BECAUSE.

♪ HE SAID, "I'M GONNA BE ALRIGHT ♪

♪ THERE'S JUST SOMETIMES YOU GOTTA FIGHT" ♪

♪ AND THE TRUTH IS NOTHING TRUER COULD BE SAID ♪

♪ I DO IT FOR US ♪

♪ AND I DO IT FOR THEM ♪

♪ AND I AIN'T GONNA BUCKLE UNDER THE WEIGHT OF THE BADGE ♪

- SO FOR ME, THE WEIGHT OF THE BADGE IS

THE WEIGHT OF THE PAGER.

WHEN THE TONES GO OFF,

THE EMERGENCY COMES IN AND YOU'RE GOING.

- AND AT THE END OF THE DAY,

WHEN WE GET DONE WITH OUR CAREERS,

WE GO BACK HOME TO OUR FAMILIES.

WELL, WHO ARE WE RETURNING BACK TO THEIR FAMILIES?

- BUT YOU STILL HAVE TO LEAVE AND GO HOME

AND TAKE THAT BADGE OFF,

BUT AFTER YOU'VE HAD A LONG DAY AT WORK,

YOUR HEART IS STILL HEAVY BECAUSE OF WHAT YOU'VE SEEN.

- WHEN YOU SAY, "THE WEIGHT OF THE BADGE,"

"THE WEIGHT OF THE SHIELD,"

I WAS HOLDING A CONVERSATION THE OTHER NIGHT,

WE WERE ON STANDBY AT A FIREHOUSE

AND TALKING WITH THE CHIEF OF ANOTHER DEPARTMENT

AND WE WERE TALKING ABOUT SEEING-

(PAGER ACTIVATES)

(STATIC FROM RADIO)

[DISPATCHER] 32 PARTITION STREET.

- I'M GOING.

(FIRE TRUCK SIREN BLARES)

♪ OH THE HEAVY WEIGHT OF THE BADGE ♪

♪ AND HE AIN'T GONNA BUCKLE ♪

♪ UNDER THE WEIGHT ♪

♪ OF THE BADGE ♪

♪ NO HE AIN'T GONNA BUCKLE UNDER THE WEIGHT ♪

♪ OF THE BADGE ♪

(SONG CONCLUDES)

- IT'S A SENSE OF SERVICE, REALLY.

THAT WEIGHT IS A SENSE OF SERVICE TO

THE PEOPLE.

I'M VERY, VERY HOPEFUL AND

I'M A OPTIMIST.

I THINK MOST OF US ARE OPTIMISTS IN THIS JOB

'CAUSE REALLY WE WANT TO DO WHAT'S RIGHT

AND WHAT'S GOOD FOR THE PEOPLE

AND STUMBLED AND FALL,

JUST GET UP, DUST YOURSELF OFF, AND THEN YOU KEEP MOVING.

CAUSE THAT'S WHAT LIFE'S ABOUT, ISN'T IT?

- [INTERVIEWER] YEAH.

I HOPE SO.

IT'S WHAT I TRY TO DO, YOU KNOW.

- YOU KNOW, THE WEIGHT OF THE BADGE, YOU KNOW,

'CAUSE IT'S REALLY NOT THAT HEAVY UNTIL YOU PUT IT ON.

AND THEN FOR THOSE GUYS, IT'S GOTTA BE INCREDIBLY HEAVY.

- LOOK, THIS IS A TEENAGER.

THIS IS A TEENAGER, RIGHT HERE.

(LAUGHING)

- I'M BLESSED ENOUGH TO, YOU KNOW,

HAVE TWO, LIKE, INCREDIBLE DAUGHTERS

THAT THEY'RE LIKE BEYOND THEIR YEARS.

- WHEN THIS UNIFORM COMES OFF, WHAT DO I HAVE?

I HAVE MY FAMILY.

- RIGHT ABOUT NOW.

WE'RE GOING TO GO OUTSIDE AND SHOW YOU WHAT IS MY PRIDE AND JOY.

- ONE OF MY COLLAR HONORS THAT CAME OFF ONE OF MY

ORIGINAL UNIFORMS AND I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE GEORGE STRAIT

HAVE THAT AS A TOKEN OF MY THANK YOU FOR

DOING THIS, THE SONG, "WEIGHT OF THE BADGE,"

AND ALSO A

MINIATURE REPLICA OF MY BADGE.

THAT'S, LIKE I SAID,

IT'S SMALL, BUT IT'S HEAVY.

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
badge /bædʒ/ A1	noun - a symbol of authority or identification, often worn by police officers
weight /weɪt/ A1	noun - the heaviness of an object noun - a burden or responsibility
serve /sɜːrv/ A1	verb - to help or provide assistance
protect /prəˈtekt/ A1	verb - to keep safe from harm
family /ˈfæməli/ A1	noun - a group of people related by blood or marriage
shift /ʃɪft/ A2	noun - a period of work, especially in a job with set hours
graveyard /ˈɡreɪvjɑːrd/ A2	noun - a place where dead people are buried adjective - relating to the night shift, often late at night
oath /oʊθ/ B1	noun - a solemn promise
impact /ˈɪmpækt/ B1	noun - a strong effect or influence
buckle /ˈbʌkəl/ B1	verb - to collapse or give way under pressure
razor /ˈreɪzər/ B1	noun - a sharp blade used for shaving or cutting adjective - extremely sharp or precise
optimist /ˈɑːptəmɪst/ B2	noun - a person who expects good things to happen
standby /ˈstændaɪ/ B2	noun - a state of readiness to act or respond
token /ˈtoʊkən/ B2	noun - a symbol or sign of appreciation
replica /ˈreplɪkə/ C1	noun - an exact copy or reproduction
stumble /ˈstʌməl/ B1	verb - to trip or nearly fall