LIVING IN A POSTWAR DREAM- THE BEACHES AT NORMANDY
Post War trauma of a Normandy Landing veteran
Cyrus is a singer-songwriter from India who has been writing lyrics and music for over four decades.
Story behind the song
This song is the outcome of a collaboration with Billy Simons, a very talented young lyricist from the U.S.
Billy asked whether I'd be interested to write the music for these lyrics he had just written and perform the song.
I thought the lyric was extremely well written and ready for the music writer to take over, without having to make too many changes.
I hope I have been able to do some justice to Billy's very evocative lyric.
Lyrics
Living In A Postwar Dream (The Beaches at Normandy)
Lyrics: Billy Simons (c) 2009
Music and performance: (c) Cyrus Vesuvala 2009
Verse-1:
I dreamt that dream again last night
The one in which I'm dead
The scene is grainy black and white
But the blood is crimson red
See a cardinal on that snow white beach
On that cold and blustery day
And I watch with trepidation
As he turns and flies away
Verse- 2:
His red tail flutters in the wind
As he races 'cross the sky
And as the scene fades out to black
I open up my eyes
Within this strange reality
Precursor to the screams
That cardinal is always there
Embedded in my dreams
Chorus:
Living in a postwar dream
Where the fighting never ends
More terrifying 'cos I've lost sight
Of what I must defend
Living in a postwar dream
A lifetime on the mend
A lifetime on the mend
Verse- 3:
The beachfront's now deserted
Those soldiers, long since gone
Their orders cancelled years ago
But my battle rages on
I can still hear that moaning
It's a young boy face-down and
He convulses as he's drowning
In a pool of blood and sand
Verse-4:
So, everyday I agonize
About the here and now
Wondering how I'll set the stage
To take my final bow
It doesn't matter much to me
When and where the curtain falls
I've waited all these years to hear
That final bugle call
Bridge:
So, yearning for tomorrow
As today slips through my hands
I'm trapped within this hour glass
Half buried in the sands
At the beaches here at Normandy
Which never looked so grand...
Oh, the beaches here at Normandy
Are grand...
The beaches here at Normandy
Are grand...
