Posted on 08/11/2009 3:41:05 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Rock group Radiohead has surprised their fans by recording a musical tribute to First World War veteran Harry Patch after he died at the age of 111. Dailymail.co.uk reports that Patch served in the trenches in 1917 and fought in the tragic battle of Passchendaele where more than 70,000 British soldiers died. He died July 25.
The song is available to download and all the profits go to the Royal British Legion.
“Recently the last remaining UK veteran of the First World War Harry Patch died at the age of 111. I had heard a very emotional interview with him a few years ago on the ‘Today’ programme on Radio 4. The way he talked about war had a profound effect on me. It became the inspiration for a song that we happened to record a few weeks before his death,” lead singer Thom Yorke wrote on the band’s website.
“It would be very easy for our generation to forget the true horror of war, without the likes of Harry to remind us. I hope we do not forget. As Harry himself said, ‘Irrespective of the uniforms we wore, we were all victims’,” he added.
I hope it’ll be a worthy tribute. No F bombs.
Henry Allingham died this year and was 113.
He was also a UK veteran of WWI.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jul/30/henry-allingham-funeral-war-veteran
Veteran, gentleman and teenager twice, Henry Allingham laid to rest
Patrick Barkham at St Nicholas Church, Brighton
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 30 July 2009 22.33 BST
Article history
A bugler sounded the last post, the coffin was draped in a union flag, and respectful crowds burst into spontaneous applause, but the funeral of Henry Allingham was far more than a military honour for the oldest survivor of the first world war.
Not bad! Here’s a link to the song.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_8184000/8184802.stm
“Harry Patch (In memory of)
I am the only one that got through
The others died where ever they fell
It was an ambush
They came up from all sides
Give your leaders each a gun and then let them fight it out themselves
I’ve seen devils coming up from the ground
I’ve seen hell upon this earth
The next will be chemical but they will never learn”
Its nice they tried, though.
bttt
Aye. We're all victims! Reparations, I say!
Are these the "artists" who had an album called "Hail to the Thief" when W was president? Or was that that U2 knockoff band Coldplay?
The song is on youtube. No F-bombs.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZAIZjc4rUc
My Grandfather got mustard gassed twice in that one. His brother took a German bullet in the foot.
And liberal icon FDR payed them back for their service.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonus_army
With the depression we’re plunging into now, because of the left, I hope we don’t see a repeat of this same march, with a similar conclusion, because of the left.
How many songs have you heard Radiohead use the f word? I mean, it’s only a couple. Talk Show Host, I know they use it once in that song. I’m trying to think of another one. My mind’s telling me there is one but I can’t pull it up.
“Creep” from 1st album Pablo Honey.
Creep.
Yes! God! The obvious ones are the most difficult to remember sometimes. And (this is embarrassing)- Radiohead is my favorite band :-[
This is what senility must feel like. Mind just groping around in the dark for what it knows used to be there...
What do you think of their tribute?
oh boo high-falutin' hoo.
I'm not gonna bother looking up "denigrating," but I think it means more than putting quotation marks around a word.
So, did they do "Hail to the Thief" or didn't they?
It was ok. The thing with Radiohead is, you can listen to their music without ever knowing what it’s about. Often, Thom Yorke uses his voice more like an instrument than as something to impart the information contained in the lyrics.
So, with that in mind, I tried to listen to it the way I would without knowing it was a tribute song. I found it made me contemplative and introspective. It was a bit melancholy but this is almost a redundant thing to say about a Radiohead song. I liked the way they used the strings (violins I guess).
Overall, it wouldn’t be one of their songs I would sit down and listen to every day. You know their song ‘How to Disappear Completely’- it’s a bit morose and sad and it’s not my first choice when I put on some Radiohead but it’s too beautiful to ignore. I suppose a tribute song to someone who has died should maybe only be taken out every once in a while and listened to.
2 + 2 = 5
One of their best songs ever. Great song to start an album with.
Yep, they definitely did Hail to the Thief. Really like 'Go to Sleep'. Some good work on that album.
alrighty then. it’s all too sublime for me, champ.
They did. Thom Yorke also had this to say about the title, “”If the motivation for naming our album had been based solely on the U.S. election, I’d find that to be pretty shallow.”
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.