Forty Years Lyrics

Lyric discussion by Dapperhead41 

Cover art for Forty Years lyrics by Joe Jackson

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 ]