Lyrics above are really wrong. I think this song is about a wartime pilot being shot down in World War One.
First of all, the title 'Blood For Poppies' refers to the fact that red poppies are associated with fallen soldiers, especially those of WW1. This is because poppies grow really well in muddy fields and frequently carpeted the trenches and battlefields of Flanders, looking like the blood of the fallen. The person in the song is trading blood for poppies, i.e. getting wounded/losing friends and getting only flowers or memorials in return.
Then there are the lyrics:
Salute the sun
I've been sitting here all night long
Running rough over Buda with the Longhorn
Got a hole, rip the pocket off my uniform
With the Black Watch, "Boys, get your heads down!"
(A Longhorn is a type of biplane used in the early years of WW1. The wings were made of canvas, as were flight jackets, so if you got a hole shot in your plane, you could patch it with a piece of uniform. Early planes were also prone to all sorts of engine problems so it's no surprise he's 'running rough', especially if he's being shot at. 'Buda' is an abbreviation of 'Budapest', a war-torn city in Hungary. The Black Watch (AKA the Royal Highland Regiment) are a Scottish infantry unit that saw extensive fighting in the war. "Boys, get your heads down!" is a phrase commonly told to troops under fire for obvious reasons. So he's flying his plane over Budapest with engine problems and a hole he has to patch with his uniform, implying both that he's been shot at and that he can't stop for better repairs, possibly because he's still being pursued. He might be remembering his time in the infantry via a flashback.)
Duty calls, but it's way too late, I'm too far gone
'Waiting For Godot' hell with my pants down
Wreck the skies
Semi-quiet in the middays
Soon I'll miss my dog, and I miss my freedom
(This also seems to me to indicate a military pilot. The war needs him but either he or his plane are too damaged to keep going. 'Waiting For Godot' is a play that deals with two characters just sitting around pointlessly waiting for someone named Godot to show up but he never does and so they just sit there. I think this is a comparison to war - waiting for reinforcements to arrive or for things to make sense. 'With my pants down' could be in reference to his damaged plane - he's been caught with his pants down and now he's a perfect target for the enemy who are wrecking the skies. Planes rarely flew at high noon because they were a perfect silhouette for anti-aircraft guns on the ground. Likewise, field artillery usually took a break in the middle of the day, so there would be a lull in the sounds of firing but there would probably still be some sounds of battle.)
I don't know why they're calling on the radio
They know I'm here, just out of sight
I don't know why they're calling on the radio
He's by my side, and I know I'm right
(This seems pretty self-explanatory. It seems slightly exasperated, like he's tired of being checked and double-checked on. Like waiting for Godot, it just seems pointless. As for 'he' this might refer to another man in his plane, a buddy who's got his back.)
I hit the fences,
Think about you when I'm all alone
I know you're tough, but I've been gone for so long
I play the memories of you inside my head
So all the pictures of us burn and radiate
Watch the clouds
And I'm falling, falling through the cracks
Head beats and my heart is pounding
Off the ground, into the starry dark
Into your arms, I'm falling
(Any soldier trying to cross no-man's land would have run into huge, tangled fences of barbed wire and once a man was trapped in them, it was almost certain death. I think here it's being used metaphorically - he feels that he and his plane have 'hit the fences' and can't go any further or do any more. He's obviously thinking about someone back home, probably a wife or sweetheart, who will be struggling to get by without him. As a pilot, it's super important for him to always watch the clouds because he never knows when another plane is going to come flying out of it at him. In the next few lines, he's struggling with his damaged plane, trying to keep flying in the dark but feeling like he's falling with his heart pounding either from altitude sickness or nerves, but thinking of his love the whole time.)
My friend lay by my side
I got to stay alive
I got to take a chance and keep on moving
Keep on moving
I see your light from miles away
(Also pretty self-explanatory, I think. He's got a friend, (possibly the 'he' in the chorus?) but that friend may be wounded or dead and he's got to keep going. If he's been shot down in enemy territory and his friend is lying dead next to him, he's got to move fast before he's spotted. They'll be looking for him and all he can do is keep moving and hope they don't find him before he gets home. The light could be either an actual light that he knows represents safety or it could be figurative light representing his love guiding him home.
Anyway, yeah, that's what I think it's about. Great song.
Lyrics above are really wrong. I think this song is about a wartime pilot being shot down in World War One.
First of all, the title 'Blood For Poppies' refers to the fact that red poppies are associated with fallen soldiers, especially those of WW1. This is because poppies grow really well in muddy fields and frequently carpeted the trenches and battlefields of Flanders, looking like the blood of the fallen. The person in the song is trading blood for poppies, i.e. getting wounded/losing friends and getting only flowers or memorials in return.
Then there are the lyrics: Salute the sun I've been sitting here all night long Running rough over Buda with the Longhorn Got a hole, rip the pocket off my uniform With the Black Watch, "Boys, get your heads down!"
(A Longhorn is a type of biplane used in the early years of WW1. The wings were made of canvas, as were flight jackets, so if you got a hole shot in your plane, you could patch it with a piece of uniform. Early planes were also prone to all sorts of engine problems so it's no surprise he's 'running rough', especially if he's being shot at. 'Buda' is an abbreviation of 'Budapest', a war-torn city in Hungary. The Black Watch (AKA the Royal Highland Regiment) are a Scottish infantry unit that saw extensive fighting in the war. "Boys, get your heads down!" is a phrase commonly told to troops under fire for obvious reasons. So he's flying his plane over Budapest with engine problems and a hole he has to patch with his uniform, implying both that he's been shot at and that he can't stop for better repairs, possibly because he's still being pursued. He might be remembering his time in the infantry via a flashback.)
Duty calls, but it's way too late, I'm too far gone 'Waiting For Godot' hell with my pants down Wreck the skies Semi-quiet in the middays Soon I'll miss my dog, and I miss my freedom
(This also seems to me to indicate a military pilot. The war needs him but either he or his plane are too damaged to keep going. 'Waiting For Godot' is a play that deals with two characters just sitting around pointlessly waiting for someone named Godot to show up but he never does and so they just sit there. I think this is a comparison to war - waiting for reinforcements to arrive or for things to make sense. 'With my pants down' could be in reference to his damaged plane - he's been caught with his pants down and now he's a perfect target for the enemy who are wrecking the skies. Planes rarely flew at high noon because they were a perfect silhouette for anti-aircraft guns on the ground. Likewise, field artillery usually took a break in the middle of the day, so there would be a lull in the sounds of firing but there would probably still be some sounds of battle.)
I don't know why they're calling on the radio They know I'm here, just out of sight I don't know why they're calling on the radio He's by my side, and I know I'm right
(This seems pretty self-explanatory. It seems slightly exasperated, like he's tired of being checked and double-checked on. Like waiting for Godot, it just seems pointless. As for 'he' this might refer to another man in his plane, a buddy who's got his back.)
I hit the fences, Think about you when I'm all alone I know you're tough, but I've been gone for so long I play the memories of you inside my head So all the pictures of us burn and radiate Watch the clouds And I'm falling, falling through the cracks Head beats and my heart is pounding Off the ground, into the starry dark Into your arms, I'm falling
(Any soldier trying to cross no-man's land would have run into huge, tangled fences of barbed wire and once a man was trapped in them, it was almost certain death. I think here it's being used metaphorically - he feels that he and his plane have 'hit the fences' and can't go any further or do any more. He's obviously thinking about someone back home, probably a wife or sweetheart, who will be struggling to get by without him. As a pilot, it's super important for him to always watch the clouds because he never knows when another plane is going to come flying out of it at him. In the next few lines, he's struggling with his damaged plane, trying to keep flying in the dark but feeling like he's falling with his heart pounding either from altitude sickness or nerves, but thinking of his love the whole time.)
My friend lay by my side I got to stay alive I got to take a chance and keep on moving Keep on moving
I see your light from miles away
(Also pretty self-explanatory, I think. He's got a friend, (possibly the 'he' in the chorus?) but that friend may be wounded or dead and he's got to keep going. If he's been shot down in enemy territory and his friend is lying dead next to him, he's got to move fast before he's spotted. They'll be looking for him and all he can do is keep moving and hope they don't find him before he gets home. The light could be either an actual light that he knows represents safety or it could be figurative light representing his love guiding him home.
Anyway, yeah, that's what I think it's about. Great song.