To mark the 75th anniversary of the D-day landings in Normandy, three songs of contrasting styles, beginning with one by Hull-born 90-year war veteran, old folk singer and peace campaigner. Jim Radford is possibly one of the youngest surviving participants on D-day. At just 15 years old who served as a galley boy on the tug boat Empire Larch as a galley boy. It was his first voyage – from Poole to the Normandy coast where he experienced heavy bombardment witnessed many casualties whilst towing block ships into place, an operatiion which nevertheless saved many lives. Originally released and performed five years ago, this gently profound song has hit the top of the charts this week, beating the usual commercial contenders such as Ed Sheeran, Taylor Swift or Justin Bieber. Profits from the song will go towards the construction of the British Normandy Memorial, which will record the names of the 22,442 men and women serving under British command who died in the Battle of Normandy.
In the cold grey light, on the 6th of June, in the year of “44,
The Empire Larch, sailed out from Poole, to join with thousands more,
The largest fleet, the world had seen, we sailed in close array,
And we set our course, for Normandy, at the dawning of the day,
There was not one man, in all our crew, that knew what lay in store,
Well we had waited for that day, through 5 long years of war,
We knew that many, would not return, but all our hearts were true
For we were bound, for Normandy, where we had a job to do,
Now the Empire Larch, was a deep sea tug, with a crew of 33.
And I was just, a galley boy, on my first trip to sea
I little thought, when I left home, all the dreadful sights i’d see,
But I came to manhood, on the day, when I first saw Normandy
At Aramanche, off the beach called Gold, neath the rockets deadly glare
We towed our Blockships, into place, and we built a harbour there
Mid shot and shell, we built it well, as history does agree
While brave men died, in the swirling tide, On the shores of Normandy
For every heroes, name that’s known, a thousand died as well
On stakes and wires their bodies hung, wrapped in the ocean swell
And many a mother, wept that day, for the sons they loved so well
Men who cracked a joke, or caged a smoke, as they stormed the gates of hell
As the years pass by, I can still recall, the men I saw that day
Who died upon, that blood soaked sand. where now sweet children play
And those of you, who were unborn, who’ve lived in liberty
Remember those, who made it so, on the Shores of Normandy
Rather different now, is the blood and thunder and heavy metal of Iron Maiden’s The Longest Day from the 2006 album A Matter Of Life and Death. The song is named after the 1962 epic British/American feature film based on Cornelius Ryan's 1959 book about the battle, with a huge cast. It describes the trepidation of a soldier going into battle on what was known Operation Overlord. The landings came in appalling conditions, including seas with a huge swell that caused a number of soldiers to drown as they disembarked in water too deep for them to swim with heavy kit. Footage here actually comes from the far more graphic, and better researched scenes from the early part of 1998’s Saving Private Ryan.
In the gloom the gathering storm abates
In the ships gimlet eyes await
The call to arms to hammer at the gates
To blow them wide throw evil to its fate
All summers long the drills to build the machine
To turn men from flesh and blood to steel
From paper soldiers to bodies on the beach
From summer sands to Armageddon’s reach
Overlord, your master not your god
The enemy coast dawning grey with scud
These wretched souls puking, shaking fear
To take a bullet for those who sent them here
The world’s alight, the cliffs erupt in flame
No escape, remorseless shrapnel rains
Drowning men no chance for a warrior’s fate
A choking death enter hell’s gate
Sliding we go, only fear on our side
To the edge of the wire,
And we rush with the tide
Oh the water is red,
With the blood of the dead
But I’m still alive, pray to God I survive
How long on this longest day
‘Til we finally make it through
How long on this longest day
‘Til we finally make it through
How long on this longest day
‘Til we finally make it through
How long on this longest day
‘Til we finally make it through
The rising dead, faces bloated torn
They are relieved, the living wait their turn
Your number’s up, the bullet’s got your name
You still go on, to hell and back again
Valhalla waits, Valkyries rise and fall
The warrior tombs, lie open for us all
A ghostly hand reaches through the veil
Blood and sand, we will prevail
Sliding we go, only fear on our side
To the edge of the wire,
And we rush with the tide
Oh the water is red,
With the blood of the dead
But I’m still alive, pray to God I survive
How long on this longest day
‘Til we finally make it through
How long on this longest day
‘Til we finally make it through
And finally, a completely different context - Joe Strummer and The Mescaleros with Techno D-day from 1999. What was all the fighting and sacrifice for? Freedom of course. Strummer’s song turns the scene to a different beach and setting - a party in Cornwall, where the battle is all about playing the music you want, but with thanks to those who gave their lives for such relatively trivial freedoms. “A techno d-day Out on Omaha Beach / Where the troops believe in a life of freedom /And this is all about free speech.”
Well, it was a techno D-day
Out on Omaha Beach
I was a reserve DJ
Playing Columbian mountain beats
Andres Landero
Ay mi sombrero
Hold onto your hats
We gotta go
Because the noise inspectors with the sound detectors
Were coming on down the beach
And the counsellors want to pounce on us
And there we go disturbing the peace
And the Cornish sun had only just begun
To sink into the western sea
So to keep it low so the cops don't know
I spun my Harry Belafonte
On a techno d-day, a techno d-day
Out on Omaha Beach
Where the troops believe in a life of freedom
And this is all about free speech
The day became night by the campfire light
The crowd began testifying
Using the headphones for a mic, four tenors delight
I sang another new sound is dyin
On a techno d-day, a techno d-day
Where the long arm of the law can't reach
On a techno d-day, a techno d-day
We waited out on Omaha Beach
Behind me in the booth was the techno crew
Ready with the crucial beats
Still they said keep it low, spin your calypso
We're waiting for Babylon to retreat
The crowd was ready to riot, they were sick of being quiet
We're still waiting for the signal to go
Then the walkie-talkie gear spat out the all-clear
And the boys hit the decks in full flow
On a techno d-day, a techno d-day
Way out on Omaha Beach
Where the troops believe in a life of freedom
And this is all about free speech
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