Army Reserve

Seems like it's about a mother seeing reformation in her childs eyes.

She tells herself And everyone else Father is risking His life for our freedoms

Her childs father is away at war fighting for his son and family so they never have to go through what he is going through right now again.

The child is seeing what is happening and the "lightning in my child's eye" is the child burning to change the passed (when he is older of course) and take a stand against war.

Not sure, but the lines

"But it's becoming a lie"

before:

"She tells herself And everyone else Father is risking His life for our freedoms"

allows me to suspect that this is an anti war/army song. Its becoming apparent to this woman that the war efforts and military influence is a dying breed fallacy. She hopes that her son doesn't follow in his dad's footsteps.

"Darling you'll save me If you save yourself"

Hmm, this has to be an anti war song, mainly because of the fact that ed is so against the war!

one of the best on the new album... the music is really good, i like the beginning

Speaking as someone who was in the Reserve/Guard and got deployed overseas, I know my wife felt like that sometimes. But it's interesting, on one hand she hated the fact that the Army had taken me away from her and our kids, and on the other, she was extremely proud of me and what I was doing. I think Ed's gotten it fairly right from the spouse's perspective.

On the other side of the coin, though, it's further proof to me that the general public doesn't really understand why those of us who've served do it. When I enlisted I can't tell you how many of my high school friends told me they thought it was crazy, or that it was a poor choice.

It's all fine and good if you choose not to enlist, or even if you choose not to support the military, but don't have a go at people who've chosen to serve.

This song is ghostly haunting. Beautiful lyrics, and very real.

"How long must she stand Before the ground, it gives way To an endless fall"

How long will she have to pretend to have things in order, before the bad news is inevitably broken to her, and everything falls apart...

"She can feel this War on her face Stars on her pillow She's folding in darkness Begging for slumber"

The most beautiful lyric I have ever read. I'm not even American, and it touches me.. ...burying her husband again and again in the recesses of her haunted mind, while dreaming of sleep. If she had another head on her pillow, or could bury him herself, at least she could close her eyes.

"Her son's slanted Always giving her The sideways eye And empty chair where dad sits How loud can silence get?"

The knowingly inquisitive look. The boy is a little too young to fully understand what's going on, but he knows that it isn't right. Mom's coming apart at the seams, and every time she reassures her son that everything's okay, she doubts it more and more.

"I'm not blind I can see it coming Looks like lightning In my child's eye

I'm not frantic I can feel it coming Darling you'll save me If you save yourself"

Woman's intuition/premonition... ...she's talking to herself, bracing herself for the news that she is all too certain is coming. The lighting is the gut feeling she gets every time she sees the "where's daddy" look in her son's eye.

The song's inevitable conclusion is that the husband is dead. The mother's self-dialogue is continued in the next song - "Come Back"

Eddie wrote the lyrics together with Damien Echols, a guy on Death Row (See the two Paradise Lost movies or read about the Robin Hood Hills Murders). I think it's about Damiens mother.

"Eddie wrote the lyrics together with Damien Echols, a guy on Death Row (See the two Paradise Lost movies or read about the Robin Hood Hills Murders). I think it's about Damiens mother. "

how does eddie know him?

I think they got in contact after Eddie got interested in the case. I know he has visited him at DR. Many people belive this Damien and his two friends are innocent and many celebrities are trying to help to push for a new trial. The story is a real tradgedy for all involved. I don't want to start a discussion about this case here, visit the site: www.wm3.org if you want to read about it.

I figured it was an anti war song but ive never heard of damien echols. Its a good song.