Ratna priča

Svojevremeno sam u jednom od ovde objavljenih tekstova pomenuo Mikea Batta i pri tome ustvrdio da on nije ni malo naivan igrač. U međuvremenu sam uspeo da dođem do dela njegovog bogatog opusa i da ga preslušam.

Zaključak? Engleskih ekscentrika nikada nije dovoljno.

Muzika koju stvara najlakše bi se mogla opisati kao nešto po zvuku slično Alan Parsons Projectu, sa malo manje roka na snimcima, a malo više orkestracije. Ne one kvazi, za kojom rokeri često potežu, već one prave. Uostalom, između mnogih drugih stvari koje mu pišu u CV-ju, stoji i da je dirigent. 🙂

Početak njegove bogate karijere obeležen je albumima na kojima je The Mike Batt Orchestra svirao klasike popularne muzike (Rolling Stones, Dylan, George Harrison, Elton John, itd…), zatim se prešaltovao na pop muziku sa grupom The Wombles, da bi u zrelom dobu počeo da objavljuje ozbiljne tematske solo albume. Uostalom, na Wikipediji, ako ispratite link, ima puno vrlo zanimljivih podataka o njegovoj karijeri i vrlo su interesantno štivo za čitanje.

Album “Songs of Love and War” objavljen je 1988. godine i sam njegov naslov jasno govori šta je tema pesama. Malo sam bio zatečen kvalitetom Battovih tekstova – ima se šta pročitati:

The smoke was slowly rising as the light began to fade,
There were fires on the skyline from some distant border raid.
And I was riding out at seventeen to join my first brigade
Many years ago.

And I chanced upon a farmhouse where the woman took me in,
She gave me food and wine; she gave me shelter from the wind.
She delayed me from my regiment, and service of my king
Many years ago.

She said:
“Soldier, before I lose you to the fight,
Oh my soldier, I’ll make a man of you tonight.”
She took me over
In the fading fire-glow,
On that wild and misty night she was my woman.

And when I rose next morning I was gone before she stirred,
I tore myself away from there and left without a word.
The sound of distant infantry was the only thing I heared
On that morning.

And in that day I aged ten years and died a thousand deaths,
I learned the feel of frozen steel and fear within my breast.
But the lesson I’ll remember till they lay me to my rest
Keeps returning.

Soldier, before I lose you to the fight,
Oh my soldier, I’ll make a man of you tonight.
She took me over
In the fading fire-glow,
On that wild and misty night she was my woman.

And when the dice of war were thrown and victory was won,
My drunken young compatriots went out to have their fun.
And there was no single house they did not burn or over-run,
On that evening.

So I rode out to that place again as hard as I could ride,
But I found her by the trail along the lonely mountainside.
In the hands of those brave friends of mine she suffered and she died,
Many years ago.

Soldier, before I lose you to the fight,
Oh my soldier, I’ll make a man of you tonight.
She took me over
In the fading fire-glow,
On that wild and misty night she was my woman.

Da ne bude zabune, Mike Batt je vrhunski i plodan autor kojii zaslužuje da bude pažljivo saslušan. Žalosno je što ga ljudi uglavnom pominju kao čoveka koji je otkrio i lansirao jednu od vodećih britanskih zvezda poslednjih godina — Katie Melua.

I, na kraju, još jedan sitan detalj – ovu pesmu su obradili The Hollies u svojoj reinkarnaciji iz osamdesetih. Allan Clarke peva je maestralno, ali današnja verzija je ono pravo – baš onakva kakvom ju je autor zamislio da zvuči.