Harry Patch (in memory of)
Today Radiohead released a song that is a tribute to Harry Patch, a British man who died recently at the agge of 111. Before his death, Patch was the only surviving WW1 combat soldier.
You can hear the song by clicking the above link, or by downloading it from radiohead’s website.
Take a second to soak it in. The message is rather clear; in fact, Thom Yorke’s lyrics are inspired by comments made by Harry Patch himself: War is horrifying. Nations are beasts of brutality. Life is wasted when we pile bodies in the trenches.
A melancholly topic, true…but the song captures Radiohead’s unique ability to translate dark sentiment through beautiful noise. And we should all listen:
I am the only one that got through
The others died where ever they fell
It was an ambush
They came up from all sides
Give your leaders each a gun and then let them fight it out themselves
I’ve seen devils coming up from the ground
I’ve seen hell upon this earth
The next will be chemical but they will never learn
