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Forty Years Lyrics
Here in berlin - people line up to get in
To wait for the end - living in glorious sin
They've looked around - and now there is no looking back
To when rivers ran red - now it's the sky that grows black
Shadows are cast as two giants roam over the earth
We light a match - but what is that little flame worth
Once allies danced and sang
But it was forty years ago
Here in d.c. - they talk about 'euro-disease'
And how the french are always so damn hard to please
Otions are passed in brussels but no one agrees
And no one walks tall - but no-one gets down on their knees
Once allies laughed and drank
But it was forty years ago
Where I come from
They don't like Americans much
They think they're so loud, so tasteless, and so out of touch
Stiff upper lips are curled into permanent sneers
Self-satisfied
Awaiting the next forty years
Once allies cried and cheered
But it was forty years ago
To wait for the end - living in glorious sin
They've looked around - and now there is no looking back
To when rivers ran red - now it's the sky that grows black
We light a match - but what is that little flame worth
Once allies danced and sang
But it was forty years ago
And how the french are always so damn hard to please
Otions are passed in brussels but no one agrees
Once allies laughed and drank
But it was forty years ago
Where I come from
They think they're so loud, so tasteless, and so out of touch
Stiff upper lips are curled into permanent sneers
Self-satisfied
Once allies cried and cheered
But it was forty years ago
Add your song meanings, interpretations, facts, memories & more to the community.
As a middle aged American, at a certain level I can only guess. Obviously, it speaks of post-war Europe and the Cold War. The entire song is at once cryptic, wistful, haunting, and daunting.
"They've looked around - and now there is no looking back to when rivers ran red - now it's the sky that grows black."
What a prescient lyric there. Past, present, and future are all projected.
The thing is, the song came from the album Big World, a genuine masterpiece. This fantastic song is but one song from an album filled with equally fantastic songs. Is it a concept album? It could be. Big World concentrates upon geopolitics, international romance, and all things in-between. If I were to ever write a book about about an album, it would be Big World. It is painfully underrated and underrepresented. Not to change the subject, but I will say the same about his album Heaven and Hell.
[Edit: Typo ]