Silent Homecoming

Annotation — European Songs

Born 7 July 1940, Liverpool, Merseyside, United Kingdom Silent Homecoming (Starr, Ringo)

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Annotation — Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs

Born 7 July 1940, Liverpool, Merseyside, United Kingdom Silent Homecoming (Starr, Ringo) Anti-war, protest, K.I.A.

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Lyrics

English: "Patiently she stares down the runway / Today's the day that he is coming home / Seems like he's been gone a life time / And a life time is a long time to be gone / But there are songs that need singing / And there are things that must be done / There are thoughts that still need thinking / And there are wars that must be won / He was just a boy when they sent for him / And overnight turned him into a man / Proudly he had served his country / In a war he didn't seem to understand / The flag still waves, his war is over / He'll never have to kill again / And as she waits, she thinks it over / Is winning worth the prize we pay to win? / Her thoughts keep wandering to his childhood / When all his hand grenades were merely toys / And "war" was just a game that he was playing / With plastic guns like other little boys / And ev'ry day when play was over / He'd put his little toys away / And she'd be standing, waiting for him / The way she's waiting here today / As the plane stops she starts thinking / Will he still look the way he did before? / Or will his eyes reflect the pain of killing / Like most young men when they come home from war? / These last few minutes seem like hours / She tries her best not to cry / But there's that hearse filled up with flowers / Did he really have to die?"

About the artist

Born 7 July 1940, Liverpool, Merseyside, United Kingdom

Themes

Anti-War · K.I.A.

In collections

European Songs · Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]