Sometimes you just know...
The first time you hear a song, you can tell, 'Oooh, this one is good! This one's memorable. People will love this one.' It's an epic tune that starts off with the sound of soldiers marching and planes flying. As I listened to it more and more (there is a short window of time that you can overdose on a song and then at some point the gelatinous material in your brain gets saturated and says, "No more ... at least for a while!") I can begin to piece together the storyline of this show-stopping tune.
Here's the deal: the song is about a young lad that gets sent off to World War I. Instead of a "welcoming committee" when he arrives in Europe, he is quickly sent into a fight. He faces off with an enemy that holds his bayonet against him. He quickly kills him. As this other soldier is dying, he falls to his knees and, "as his eyes begin to fade, he whispers softly, 'Godspeed this letter, away from here, I've sealed it with my tears, and stamped it with my fist (maybe thirst).'"
This young man takes the letter that was written for this fallen enemy's family. He looks through his belongings and sees a picture of his family. He realizes he's not so different from this other guy. 'They could have taught each other much,' he thinks.
"Godspeed this letter
away from here
I've sealed it with my tears
and stamped it with my thirst
and godspeed this letter
my work down here is through
I'm on my way to better days
and so are you..."
I'm sorry, but I'm struck by this song.
As the lady on SNL says as she pounds her chest,
"I feel verklempt!"
I'm reminded of some other great, epic tunes that end some really good albums. 2007's Five Score and Seven Years Ago by Relient K ends with the lengthy and epic "Deathbed." The last two Anberlin albums have ended on similar notes. Cities had "Fin" and New Surrender has "Miserabile Visu." They're the kind of songs that beg for silence when they end, because your senses are like gasping for air to absorb what you've just heard. I dare call it greatness.