She always did the best she could,
She tried each day to do something good,
'cos the Devil ~ makes work for idle hands.
She gave her faith to a military man,
He was sharp an' tall with a permanent tan
And her parents ~ couldn't understand.
Now she lives each day in the heartbreak house,
She pines away in the heartbreak house,
She's going grey in the heartbreak house,
The dogs run stray – in the heartbreak house..
There's a war being waged in a foreign country
in a far off land 'cross a stormy sea
There's a price to pay – that she just can't see
You shouldn't love a fighting man
They'll take you hostage if they can
There's a price to pay, – you just don't understand
Now the lights are low in the heartbreak house,
The nights go slow in the heartbreak house,
The cobwebs grow in the heartbreak house,
You just don't go ~ to the heartbreak house ...
The army took her man to war,
they didn't say what they were fighting for,
but they gave his life ~ for an age-old score
The army gave away his life
And sent a telegram to his wife,
Thanking her for her sacrifice ...
Now she lies away in the heartbreak house,
she mourns her fate in the heartbreak house
Too much to take in the heartbreak house
Even the floorboards ache ~ in the heartbreak house.
Yes, even the floorboards ache ~ in the heartbreak house..
She tried each day to do something good,
'cos the Devil ~ makes work for idle hands.
She gave her faith to a military man,
He was sharp an' tall with a permanent tan
And her parents ~ couldn't understand.
Now she lives each day in the heartbreak house,
She pines away in the heartbreak house,
She's going grey in the heartbreak house,
The dogs run stray – in the heartbreak house..
There's a war being waged in a foreign country
in a far off land 'cross a stormy sea
There's a price to pay – that she just can't see
You shouldn't love a fighting man
They'll take you hostage if they can
There's a price to pay, – you just don't understand
Now the lights are low in the heartbreak house,
The nights go slow in the heartbreak house,
The cobwebs grow in the heartbreak house,
You just don't go ~ to the heartbreak house ...
The army took her man to war,
they didn't say what they were fighting for,
but they gave his life ~ for an age-old score
The army gave away his life
And sent a telegram to his wife,
Thanking her for her sacrifice ...
Now she lies away in the heartbreak house,
she mourns her fate in the heartbreak house
Too much to take in the heartbreak house
Even the floorboards ache ~ in the heartbreak house.
Yes, even the floorboards ache ~ in the heartbreak house..
Contributed by giorgio - 2020/7/12 - 18:35
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Note for non-Italian users: Sorry, though the interface of this website is translated into English, most commentaries and biographies are in Italian and/or in other languages like French, German, Spanish, Russian etc.
Music by Michael Saxell
Lyrics by Keith Reid, outside Procol Harum
Album: The Common Thread (The Keith Reid Project)
As lyricist for Procol Harum, Keith Reid wrote the words to their hit "A Whiter Shade Of Pale" and many other nice songs. He moved to America in 1986, and in the mid-'00s started writing songs for what would become The Common Thread, the new multi-artist album which was issued in August 2008 under The Keith Reid Project banner.
He wrote this song with the Swedish songwriter Michael Saxell, who handles the vocals.
The song is about a woman whose husband is killed when he is sent overseas to fight a war.
Says Keith: “That song I wrote in Sweden. But it felt American to me. The military guy, to me it was an American. I think the characters, although I actually wrote it somewhere else, it felt like an American situation. The idea for that was, 'even the floorboards ache in the Heartbreak House.' I got that idea, and it seemed to me very powerful, you know, even the floorboards ache. That was an example of knowing how this song ended up, but how did it start? And looking for a way to begin it”.
We dedicate it to all war widows ...