Feathers burn so easily, the cat is blinded in the garden
Last vision the lark is flame
The cattle shed gives off the smell of Sunday kitchen
The gentle eye, the dispensable perfection
Before the flash takes two weeks food
Pile the sacks of earth and hide
All of us here know it, we grew it
Fighting amongst ourselves, leaving bits of flesh on barbed wire
A little blood on the floor
Locks and bars across the door
Well versed in violation
Our children beat each other in the garden
Our failure to accept the earth, we talk of love but push it to the edge
Push it to the edge
This is no natural aggression composing death
I am afraid for beauty when I see the fist
The perfect hand that turns against itself
The perfect hand that holds a gun or wields a butcher's blade
Or leads to death
Leads to death the used-up bull or incarcerates the hopeless fool
Or takes the forest with a single flame
Leaves the next an empty shell
Human kind condemns the hunting beast
Yet their own choice leaves behind such ragged meat
The military dream of blood
Their sweet wine flowing in the veins of men
Who work towards our bloody end
They fly Enola gaily, give birth to this waiting...waiting
Give us the reality of our hatred, give the earth nothing
Melting, goats dead on the green, dying lambs bleating by the wire
Three last days on the earth, I lay down to die in the grass



Lyrics submitted by getupgirl121

Sentiment Lyrics as written by Kenneth Bruce (kenny G) Gorelick Walter Afanasieff

Lyrics © Kanjian Music, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Sentiment song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

1 Comment

sort form View by:
  • 0
    General Comment

    One of the most depressing, painfully evocative "nuclear war" songs ever written. And musically it's the most out-of-character Crass track ever.

    imrazoron April 08, 2010   Link

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!

More Featured Meanings

Album art
Light Up The Sky
Van Halen
The song lyrics were written by the band Van Halen, as they were asked to write a song for the 1979 movie "Over the Edge" starring Matt Dillon. The movie (and the lyrics, although more obliquely) are about bored, rebellious youth with nothing better to do than get into trouble. If you see the movie, these lyrics will make more sense. It's a great movie if you grew up in the 70s/80s you'll definitely remember some of these characters from your own life. Fun fact, after writing the song, Van Halen decided not to let the movie use it.
Album art
Cajun Girl
Little Feat
Overall about difficult moments of disappointment and vulnerability. Having hope and longing, while remaining optimistic for the future. Encourages the belief that with each new morning there is a chance for things to improve. The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future. Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere" The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
Album art
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
Album art
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.
Album art
American Town
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran shares a short story of reconnecting with an old flame on “American Town.” The track is about a holiday Ed Sheeran spends with his countrywoman who resides in America. The two are back together after a long period apart, and get around to enjoying a bunch of fun activities while rekindling the flames of their romance.