Feb 2022 alternative rock
While I was in New Orleans I visited the World War II museum - a great place you should go to if you get the chance. The final exhibit of the tour addressed the final conclusion of the war which was with Japan, long after Germany had given up. Of course it was the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki that brought it all to an end. However Bockscar (the second bomber that dropped a nuke) was actually bound for Kokura - and only because of cloud cover did it divert to its back up target Nagasaki - this song imagines two children in Kokura at play irritated by the clouds - little knowing the fate they are escaping.
Sakura liked to watch the stars
Kokura’s sky at depth of night
A vivid view of vivid Mars
Curtained by clouds that stopped its light
And so Sakura cried
Her little soul a little dead
And Bockscar passed
To Nagasaki instead
Hiroshi lived to fly his kite
Kokura’s sky his place of play
A daring dance of daring flight
Curtained by clouds that ruined his day
As so Hiroshi cried
His little soul a little dead
And Bockscar passed
To Nagasaki instead
As Bockscar dropped
Its Fat Man load
70,000 souls
Reached the end of their road
@ambroise Apr 2022
Poignant story.
Mass killing is always so hard to understand. We just can't relate to thousands of people. They're too many.
But two boys that escapes death by chance, we can relate to. And begin to understand the huge ugly truth.
Interresting harmonies, simple as we wtiness the simple life of the boys, and getting all distured when the Bockscar point turns up.
@berni1954 Mar 2022
Fabulous write. This is exactly the kind of history based song that I like to write myself.
I was once in a play which dramatized the life of Claude Etherly. He piloted "Straight Flush" the observer plane that reported weather conditions over Hiroshima and took photos of the explosion. The Air Force needed clear weather for the photos so they could judge exactly what damage each bomb made. Etherly later became a campaigner for nuclear disarmament.
@gm7 Mar 2022
The liners notes has put this song into frame! Very clever. The dynamics of the piece are cool and then that piano solo...all fits together very well. This was a great write and I did enjoy my listnen.
t4t
@chrismyth02 Mar 2022
What a story behind this track; harrowing. Love that bassy intro and light cymbal bringing into the verse. The lighter keys add layers to the instrumentation. The more somber ending feels like the dust settling after the explosion...
@thedutchwidows Mar 2022
It's a poignant tale and really well-written. The tiny details of chance on which lives turn; you've captured them really well. Musically, it's really nice - that bass part (doubled with a guitar maybe?) is really propulsive, just pushing the whole thing along. The way the music becomes more bombastic for the last verse is a really cool touch (not sure bombastic is the right word, but I can't think what the right word is!). Really enjoyed it!
@elesimo Mar 2022
Oh, wow, this is such a powerful song. Love the production, with the big drums on the last stanza. Lovely piano playing as well, it works really well for an outro. This is such a beautiful song!
@kvnwoodruff Feb 2022
Wow, I’m embarrassed to say I did not know about this piece of US/world history. That chord change in the chorus is giving me some serious steely Dan vibes for some reason. I like it!
@luminaire Feb 2022
great concept! I love the dissonance under "Bockscar". still sounds like such a sweet song despite the subject
@richaaaay Feb 2022
Interesting concept for this song. Incredible how fate twists and turns. Did you record this back in the UK or while traveling in the US? Either way you have some impressive production work going on, or at least it feels that way.