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Over the Top
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Bittersweet tale of the great war. Please can something good come of it all.
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acoustic folk rock
Dave Stannard plays the acoustic guitar and sings, by himself, all on his own. While he sings and plays, he also dances around a lot and is good fun to watch. He calls this "a performance"; most people agree. His songs are actually written by him, and not others, usually. Sometimes the songs turn out quite catchy and people sing them in the bath or play them on local radio shows.
Song Info
Charts
Peak #743
Peak in subgenre #75
Author
Dave Stannard
Rights
Dave Stannard
Uploaded
December 14, 2008
Track Files
MP3
MP3 5.1 MB 127 kbps 5:34
Story behind the song
I've had the chorus for ages, but I knew that it would be an involved task actually writing a song that approached the topic in a sensitive way. Additionally I didn't want to do a simplistic "War is suffering" narrative and decided to add some characters to the narrative. I settled on an unnamed protagonist, his beau, Marie and his best mate Harry. "Marie" was Marie Lloyd, whose song "Now you've got the khaki on" really inspired the first verse. "Harry" is, of course, Harry Patch - the legendary survivor of the Battle of Passchendaele.
Lyrics
Sweet Marie said she'd love to see me get me khaki on So I turned 18 for the Derby Scheme but they only had blue uniforms oh colour my day in gunmetal gray I’m here because Kitchener said to me You’ve got to play your own part in tragedy Stand around and wait for the shelling to stop Then I’m going over the top lady think of me for tonight i shall be in the throes of Passchendale we'll bite and hold for Haig but slowly slip and sink away inches taken and lost for a kiss on a cross CHORUS Over the top kiss your bible cross your heart they're going to blow us all to god-save-the-king Harry would you please carry my love to Marie? Well Harry made it home for tea with our Marie, their kids bounced on a knee you know they named one of their sons after me the boy in the blue uniform whose bones line the soil of Sint Juliaan I'm so glad you're away, let's not do this again I came because Kitchener said to me You’ve got to play your own part in our tragedy now we get a break of day for the shelling has stopped let's settle the earth and the rot let poppies grow over the top
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