Ok here it is, the very breif version.
I knew a guy who was a Vietnam Veteran when I was a teenager. He was a really cool guy but he didn't ever talk about the war and I was curious. Once at a company party, I was pretty intoxicated mind you, I blurted out, "Tell me a story about Vietnam". He stared at me in a way that curdled my blood and walked away. I was such an idiot! A couple of days later he pulled me aside at work and told me a tale that he lived through, explaining to me that he would never speak of it again. What he said, stuck with me and I never forgot the story. He told me of a firefight and making a split second decision to save his life and in doing so taking the life of another boy. Yes, boy. We are talking a 17 year old Vietnam kid the same age as himself. He never stopped thinking of that boy and wondering if he had a family of his own. My friend was haunted by that incident the rest of his life and he never forgot how his life was changed forever in a blink of an eye.
When 9/11 happened, we were all horrified and maybe some of us civilians felt for the first time what men feel in war, if only a small percentage of what they may go through. I started thinking about what it must be like to have to go to Afghanistan to fight for freedom and this story popped back into my head. Blink of an Eye is how fast everything can change; the most impressive buildings in America can disappear, precious life can be taken away, the solitude we felt as Americans was dashed in seconds, etc. The song doesn't tell the story of 9/11, it tells the story of that scared 17 year old soldier who never stopped thinking of his enemy, who for all he knew had kids and a wife and family and friends just like him. It is not an anti-war song. It just tells one simple story out of millions that could be told, that's all. The only common thread with 9/11 is how fast everything changed.
Off the subject a bit, my wife Robin's birthday is 9/11! Needless to say it was the worst birthday she has ever had and now for the rest of our lives we will never be able to be truly happy on that day.
Thanks for your interest in the lyric.
Doug