This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
A butcher yes that was my trade
But the king's shilling is now my fee
A butcher I may as well have stayed
For the slaughter that I see
And the preacher in his pulpit
Sermon: "Go and fight, do what is right"
But he don't have to hear these guns
And I'll bet he sleeps at night
And I
And I can't stop shaking
My hands won't stop shaking
My arms won't stop shaking
My mind won't stop shaking
I want to go home
Please let me go home
Go home
And I have seen a friend of mine
Hang on the wire
Like some rag toy
Then in the heat the flies come down
And cover up the boy
And the flies come down in
Gommecourt, Thiepval,
Mametz Wood, and French Verdun
If the preacher he could see those flies
Wouldn't preach for the sound of guns
And I
And I can't stop shaking
My hands won't stop shaking
My arms won't stop shaking
My mind won't stop shaking
I want to go home
Please let me go home
Go home
But the king's shilling is now my fee
A butcher I may as well have stayed
For the slaughter that I see
And the preacher in his pulpit
Sermon: "Go and fight, do what is right"
But he don't have to hear these guns
And I'll bet he sleeps at night
And I
And I can't stop shaking
My hands won't stop shaking
My arms won't stop shaking
My mind won't stop shaking
I want to go home
Please let me go home
Go home
And I have seen a friend of mine
Hang on the wire
Like some rag toy
Then in the heat the flies come down
And cover up the boy
And the flies come down in
Gommecourt, Thiepval,
Mametz Wood, and French Verdun
If the preacher he could see those flies
Wouldn't preach for the sound of guns
And I
And I can't stop shaking
My hands won't stop shaking
My arms won't stop shaking
My mind won't stop shaking
I want to go home
Please let me go home
Go home
Lyrics submitted by xJoeBoothx
Butcher's Tale (Western Front 1914) Lyrics as written by C. White
Lyrics © MARQUIS SONGS USA
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Um, right, meaning. Well, it's about World War I. The guy was a Butcher, and became a soldier because of a preacher who gave an inspiring sermon, and now he obviously regrets it.
Chris White wrote this song and also sings it, which is kind of unusual. Colin Blunstone wanted to sing it but didn't like it the at the time it came out. An influence to the song was '1941 New York Mining Disaster' by the Bee Gees. The original title should have been 'Western Front 1916' but it was misprinted as 'Western Front 1914' on the album. 1916 is when the battle took place during the first world war. As a single, this song bombed unfortunately.
This is the best war protest song ever written by far.
The reasoning behind this statement is it is through the eyes of the soldier who is traumatized by the horrors of war.
The most relevant line, especially in today's world, is "If the preacher he could see those flies Wouldn't preach for the sound of guns." Many people who support war and conflict are usually old politicians and media personal who are not the ones being sent to fight and neither are their children. That is why if there were a draft, no one would suppport war unless it was absolutely necessary.
War is horrific and no one should have to be victim to its horrors.
This song is obvioously about WWI after he read "All Quiet on The Western Front" and how you can get a false sense of happiness to compensate for such a terrible experience.
A very artistic style of songwriting when it comes to the melody; it's on it's way to being one of my favorite songs.
definitely about WWI, due to the name of the song.
Since this song is about World War I soldier, the parts with the line “My arms won’t stop shaking” are definitely referencing shell shock, the form of post-traumatic stress disorder that many WWI soldiers suffered from. One of the symptoms of shell shock is shaking. You can see what I mean in this video: youtu.be/IWHbF5jGJY0 Also, I learned that barbed wite was a common tactic in WWI. Here’s the information I found on that: During World War I, barbed wire was used for both defensive purposes and as a trapping mechanism. Soldiers would defend their trenches with barbed wire by installing the barbed wire a distance away on the ground from the tops of their trenches. When used as a trap, artillery and gun fire were sometimes used specifically to direct enemy soldiers into already constructed barbed wire snares. Source: National Museum of the United States Air Force
So the butcher’s friend likely got caught in an enemy barbed wire trap.
Darn my link didn’t work. Let’s try again: youtu.be/IWHbF5jGJY0
The first time I heard this song I was like, "GAY TO THE EXTREME" then suddenly after a couple of listens I was like, "I SAY, QUITE GOOD!"