Portraits of war (Lyric) Prog-Rock/Art Rock

A song about war. I had in mind a soldier from the First or Second World War who also happened to be an artist and was sketching portraits of his fellow soldiers as they faced the terrors of trench warfare. The idea for the lyric originally came from a theatre comedy sketch that I had written many years before that focused on a group of soldiers.

Portraits of war

(Verse 1)
I sketch a calloused face
Those eyes still glint despite the pain,
Mud runs like mascara
Tear drop tracks made by the rain.
The bombs explode like fireworks
As we shoot the jolly breeze,
Young Johnston's in the corner
Looking like he's just asleep.

(Chorus)
Portraits of war
Portraits of war
Life, the bloody canvass

Stained crimson to the core

Portraits of war.

(Bridge)
As the fires burn
And the dying cry,
I sketch worn faces
Under a darkening sky.
As the pages turn
My pencil blunts,
I look back at all the names
What feels like years,

Has been just months.

(Chorus)
Portraits of war
Portraits of war
Life, the bloody canvass

Stained crimson to the core

Portraits of war.

(Verse 2)
I don't see any hate
Hearts still beat despite the pain,
We trust in one another
I'd carry you, you'd do the same.
The guns chatter like old friends
As we wear holes in our knees,
I hear Eddie?s lost an arm
The fare home isn't cheap.

(Chorus)
Portraits of war
Portraits of war
Life, the bloody canvass

Stained crimson to the core

Portraits of war.

(Verse 3)

I lay down my notepad
Lest I bleed upon the page,
Sarge asks if I'm all right
I hear his voice, it starts to fade

(Coda)

Hallelu, Hallelujah

Hallelu, Hallelujah

I look down at my dark countenance
Like I've never seen myself before.

(Outro)

Portraits of war
Portraits of war
Portraits of war


Written by Simon Wright and Justin Serrano
(July 2017)