Requiem aeternam, requiem aeternam
Mama, mama, forget your pies
Have faith they won't get cold
And turn your eyes to the bloodshot sky
Your flag is flying full
At half-mast
For the matadors
Who turned their backs
To please the crowd
And all fell before the bull
Red was the color of his blood flowing thin
Pallid white was the color of his lifeless skin
Blue was the color of the morning sky
He saw looking up from the ground where he died
It was the last thing ever seen by him
Kyrie eleison
Mama, mama, forget your pies
Have faith they won't get cold
And turn your eyes to the bloodshot sky
Your flag is flying full
At half-mast
For the matadors
Who turned their backs
To please the crowd
And all fell before the bull
Black and white were the figures that recorded him
Black and white was the newsprint he was mentioned in
Black and white was the question that so bothered him
He never asked, he was taught not to ask
What was on his lips as they buried him
Rex tremendae majestatis
Requiem aeternam, requiem aeternam
Mama, mama, forget your pies
Have faith they won't get cold
And turn your eyes to the bloodshot sky
Your flag is flying full
At half-mast
For the matadors
Who turned their backs
To please the crowd
And all fell before the bull
Red was the color of his blood flowing thin
Pallid white was the color of his lifeless skin
Blue was the color of the morning sky
He saw looking up from the ground where he died
It was the last thing ever seen by him
Kyrie eleison
Mama, mama, forget your pies
Have faith they won't get cold
And turn your eyes to the bloodshot sky
Your flag is flying full
At half-mast
For the matadors
Who turned their backs
To please the crowd
And all fell before the bull
Black and white were the figures that recorded him
Black and white was the newsprint he was mentioned in
Black and white was the question that so bothered him
He never asked, he was taught not to ask
What was on his lips as they buried him
Rex tremendae majestatis
Requiem aeternam, requiem aeternam
Contributed by Riccardo Venturi - 2006/1/18 - 17:07
This is one of my all-time favorite songs, and I wish I had a choir I could convince to do it justice (I'd have to be allowed to sing it, of course).
There are very, very few songs that give me massive goosebumps: almost the entire score of "West Side Story;" Joni Mitchell's bleak portrait of an inner-city junkie, "Cold Blue Steel and Sweet Fire;" and THIS ONE. I'm always a sucker for haunting melodies and unexpected chords beneath them, lush harmonies, and even more haunting (and, in these days prophetic) lyrics. "Requiem For the Masses" combines them all.
I wish radio had the guts to revive it for airplay.
There are very, very few songs that give me massive goosebumps: almost the entire score of "West Side Story;" Joni Mitchell's bleak portrait of an inner-city junkie, "Cold Blue Steel and Sweet Fire;" and THIS ONE. I'm always a sucker for haunting melodies and unexpected chords beneath them, lush harmonies, and even more haunting (and, in these days prophetic) lyrics. "Requiem For the Masses" combines them all.
I wish radio had the guts to revive it for airplay.
Sandy A. - 2019/5/21 - 03:09
i love this song and i only hope and pray that the radio stations do not bow to the pressures of the censors it is fantastic and i never knew what it meant untill some one told me that it was a in protesr t to rhe viet nam war is that true? regardles, irs a great song and it s a LOT bbetter than all the crap they put out today Kudos to you Terry!!!
michael bohdan tymkiw - 2021/1/27 - 08:22
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"The flip side of Top 40 hit, Never My Love. It has a stark, dramatic sound and the dark, beautiful requiem mass parts illustrate the dead seriousness of the song. The song writer has stated that the song was becoming very popular in about 12 major radio markets. But due to its anti-war subject matter the White House made some calls to Warner Brothers Records who influenced the radio market to reduce radio play of the song. Therefore, essentially condemning it to near obscurity."
from The Vietnam War Song page