This is a recording of a live performance in the studio. We tracked 3 or 4 takes, and my voice was starting to wear out - you'll see why when you get near the end - and nothing we had tracked felt right.
I walked out of the control room into the tracking room (which was John's bedroom), sighed, picked up the guitar and played this take. John and I decided it was best to quit while we were ahead afterwards. I honestly don't know if I will ever play it this well again...
lyrics
The riders have left their saddles empty,
My brother decided to leave the country,
Ooh, he won’t hear me.
Our houses have left their windows open,
My window is cracking, it's barely broken,
Ooh, it keeps cracking.
The stables are crowded, their hallways dusty,
The horses are silent, their stillness holding,
Ooh, I’m not riding.
Julia, you’re sleeping soundly,
Wake up, alarm’s are sounding,
Peter is screaming, “Alleliua!”
"Alleliua."
The hay bales are burning in the sooty fields,
The trees are all black, they look like towers of steel,
Ooh, I am freezing.
A clothesline is a’hangin’ to a tattered sail,
A horse shoe is half buried in the blackened trail,
Ooh, it keeps burning.
The stable is just rubble; all the saddles burning,
My brother probably never made it out of the country,
Ooh, and I wish he could hear me.
Julia, you’re sleeping soundly,
Wake up, the house is burning,
Peter is screaming, “Alleliua!”
“Alleliua.”
Darling, the fields are grey and empty,
Honey, pretty soon there won’t even be a country,
Ooh, do you hear me?
Eyes closed, and face dark - is this dying?
I have never seen a life just fighting,
Ooh, you’re breathing lightly,
Ooh, you’re speaking softly,
Ooh, you’re barely breathing,
Julia, do you hear me?
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