VOICES FROM THE EARTH – from Crimson (the cantata)

LYRICS

Guns of war fell silent one century ago;
Yet we gather here together
and we let our feelings show.
Can you hear a distant echo
like whispers from below?
We hear voices rising from the earth.

From the beaches of Normandy
the shore so far from home;
from the trenches of Passendale
and the Valley of the Somme;
from the meadows of Flanders,
the slopes of Vimy Ridge
we hear voices.

What are you willing to die for?
Was my death of any value at all?
I was young and so naive
when the gale force winds of diplomacy
swept me away from my family and home.

Are your leaders and rulers
and royalty and despots
still marching the civilized world
ever closer to the edge of the abyss?

What was I willing to die for?
Have you you learned any lesson at all?
Why would you cede power to those
who have at their fingertips
horrendous possibilities?
Why would you cede power to those
who have at their fingertips
the ultimate obscenity
to end it all?

From the beaches of Normandy
the shore so far from home;
from the trenches of Passendale
and the Valley of the Somme;
from the meadows of Flanders,
and the slopes of Vimy Ridge
we hear voices.

text – Larry Smeets (adapted)