FAWM: "The Return of the Living Dead"

The Return of the Living Dead

3 weeks ago by @berni1954

The Return of the Living Dead

berni1954

00:00

Liner Notes

This was written for the "Movie Title Challenge". It tells the true story of my maternal grandfather, who was among the British soldiers who liberated the worst of the Nazi death camps: Bergen-Belsen. People who had been marched from Auschwitz to Bergen-Belsen and survived long enough to be liberated said Auschwitz was a holiday camp by comparison. Of course, the most famous person to have died here, not long before the liberation, was Ann Frank.

Instrument: Hora 3/4 Guitar / Baritone Guitalele
#movietitlechallenge #FUC

Lyrics

(Em) My Granddad was a happy young man
In the (D) days before the war
A (Em) drummer in a dance band
His (C) beat got them up on the (D) floor
Then (C) dark clouds on the hor(Em)izon
Turned (C) into a swift blitz(D)krieg
As the (Em) Nazis marching into Poland
Meant (Am) Granddad would (D) have to (Em) leave

(Em) He was called up to serve his country
Spent five (D) years in a sapper brigade
Saw (Em) combat in many theatres
Worked with his (C) muscle and a (D) spade
He (C) met with carnage (Em) daily
That in his (C) mind was permanently (D) stamped
But (Em) nothing prepared him for the horrors
Of Bergen-(Am)Belsen (D) concentration (Em) camp

(Em) Granddad's unit rolled into Belsen
Fifteenth of (D) April 'forty-five
Where the (Em) number of unburied dead
Rivalled (C) those who were still a(D)live
(C) Granddad helped to (Em) dig mass graves
Bulldozing (C) bodies into open (D) pits
The (Em) stench was indescribable
And nearly (Am) drove him (D) out of his (Em) wits

(Em) Grandma said the man who came home
Was (D) not the one who'd left
She'd (Em) find him staring at the floor
Quite (C) obviously be(D)reft
She (C) knew that try (Em) as he might
He couldn't (C) get it all out of his (D) head
And his (Em) nights were haunted daily
By the re(Am)turn (D) of the living (Em) dead

Comments

@mmmmarcus 1w

Had to listen with a title like that. Didn't entirely expect it to be about the nazi camp, but wow. Great stuff, heavy theme! Great performance!

@audrey 2w

Beautiful! I love this melody and your singing is divine. As always, I'm in awe of your talent for lyrics. The story you tell in this song is an important one, powerful, and needed in this world today. Thank you for this song! I had to listen twice. It's very moving.

@gardeningangel 2w

Wow. Just... wow. What a story and legacy. Stories like this need to be told, and putting it into song makes it so much more potent. It's easy to pause and process while reading a book or news article but with the song there is no quarter given , it just keeps coming at you. Thank you to your grandfather and all those with him who endured things no one should ever have to witness.

@janeg 2w

Wow! Awesome telling of a terrible tale. My generation is so lucky not to have had to deal with such unimaginable horrors.

@motorcitymusicman 2w

Wow. This is an exceptionally well-told story and really powerful use of the movie prompt. Fantastic job here.

@stewartscissor 2w

Great storytelling. Compelling (and a great interpretation of the given title).

@markblevis 2w

@berni1954 Wow! What a powerful story and so well told, earnestly told, in song. I can't help but see your grandfather at these three stages of his life, a changed man. Thank you for sharing this. And thank you to your family for the sacrifices they all made.

@stephenwordsmith 2w

A modern bardic classic - and the delivery is a perfect home for a chilling tale (one, sadly, told a thousand times)

I did appreciate the motif of the return of the living dead - it lends a metaphorical element to what is almost a documentary in song, and it ties the underlying threads of the lingering horrors of war together achingly well.

@coolparadisoMod 3w

Too much for anyone to see! We must remember! Very well done Berni!

@odilongreen 3w

So stirring, told with the perfect level of detachment to make it hit all the harder. Absolutely lovely song.

@writeandwrong 3w

Whoooh! With all of the reminders of the past recently in this regard, you have answered the call to refresh the memories of horrors of yesterday. Wonderfully written and performed. What a superb FAWM tune!!

@nadine 3w

Wow Berni. The lyrics are ace, and I wish that there were more songs about that topic really coming to the point.

@billwhite51 3w

one of the best holocaust ballads i have heard, but three verses are not enough, the story is begging for another ten, yet the reductionism of the take is effective. you tell enough of the story to incite the imagination and the listener can fill in the blanks. it is a gripping song, and i didnt want to be free of its grip. your performance was intense without being aggressive, and the slow, rolling, unfolding of the unspeakable horrors was riveting.

@timfatchenMod 3w

This is just out of the box and wholly remarkable. Technically, the voice, the backing and the melody is so strong it'd stand by itself but with the lyrics, so powerful. This is what we need to hear on TV and radio in Australia as antisemitism rears its ugly head. [rant snipped]

@mattwdunn 3w

The best thing I’ve heard from you. Absolutely heartbreaking song. Love the somber funereal vibe you have achieved. Lyrically it’s pretty hard to listen to which is precisely the point. Outstanding