A young man came to a house of prayer
They did not ask what brought him there
He was not friend, he was not kin
But they opened the door
And they let him in

And for an hour they stranger stayed
He sat with them and he seemed to pray
But then the young man drew a gun
And he killed nine people
old and young

In Charleston in the month of June
The mourners gathered in a room
The president came to speak some words
And the cameras rolled
and the nation heard

But no words could say what must be said
For all the living and the dead
So on that day and in that place
The president sang "Amazing Grace"
The president sang "Amazing Grace"

We argued where to place the blame
On one man's hate or the nation's shame
Some illness of the mind or soul
And how the world could be made whole

But no words could say what must be said
For all the living and the dead
So on that day and in that place
The president sang "Amazing Grace"
My president sang "Amazing Grace"