Elegy of the Slain
A dark gothic song of battle’s aftermath in haunted fields of the dead. Layer male and female voices in duet, then overlap them with spoken words before the end. Use war drums, kettle drums, and ripping guitars to build an epic final climax.
Lyrics
[Verse]
Kick and thud, a heavy roll of tin
drums beating like a war drum on the ground
strings tearing at the resolvent air
while kettle drums rattle on the floor
[Verse 1]
Red clay soil turns to red dust
clay sticks to the boot, to the knee
the ground is cracked beneath the weight
of all the fallen, all the bone
Gravel crunches under weight of steel
a war machine that won't stop turning
thunder crack rolls across the sky
downpour soaking through the skin
[Chorus]
We stand amidst the dead and the dying
fallen where the harvest used to be
embers glow on broken charred wood
ash and soot upon the face of war
[Verse 2]
Salt air hangs on scorched and smoldering leaves
dry wind blows through the hanging wreckage
heat shimmer warps the edge of vision
sun-bleached bones in the drying field
Heavier boots, a heavier tread
through the mud, through the fields of gray
roots of trees are torn and tangle
overgrown with thorn and pain
[Chorus]
We stand amidst the dead and the dying
fallen where the harvest used to be
embers glow on broken charred wood
ash and soot upon the face of war
[Bridge]
Male voice low: the battle ends
Female voice rising: but the field remains
Spoken: "We fought for nothing but the ground"
Spoken: "Now we wait for winter's frost"
Drums build, guitars rip, thunder cracks
as the flood of war drums swells and breaks
[Final Chorus]
We stand amidst the dead and the dying
fallen where the harvest used to be
embers glow on broken charred wood
ash and soot upon the face of warFrost on the bare branch
slush between the toes
vapor breath in the freezing air
as the dead take hold of the soil
Fields of the dead, fields of the dead
fields of the dead
fields of the dead
(frozen ground)