The Gunner's Dream

The Gunner's Dream 5:06

Lyrics:
Floating down
Through the clouds
Memories come rushing up to meet me now
But in the space between the heavens
And the corner of some foreign field
I had a dream (2x)

Good-bye Max
Good-bye Ma
After the service, when you're walking slowly to the car
And the silver in her hair shines in the cold November air
You hear the tolling bell
And touch the silk in your lapel
And as the teardrops rise to meet the comfort of the band
You take her frail hand
And hold on to the dream
                            Oi!
A place to stay   A real one!
Enough to eat     I know that, what about John?
Somewhere old heroes shuffle safely down the street
Where you can speak out loud
About your doubts and fears
And what's more, no-one ever disappears
You never hear their standard issue kicking in your door
You can relax on both sides of the tracks
And maniacs don't blow holes in bandsmen by remote control
And everyone has recourse to the law
And no-one kills the children any more
No-one kills the children any more

Night after night
Going round and round my brain
His dream is driving me insane

In the corner of some foreign field
The gunner sleeps tonight
What's done is done
We cannot just write off his final scene
Take heed of the dream
Take heed

This powerful vision of an ideal society is a dream in the minds of those who fought and died for a better world, only to be betrayed. However, there are those who remember and 'take heed.' The line 'maniacs don't blow holes in bandsmen by remote control' is a reference to the IRA Hyde Park bombing of 1981.

Roger Waters: "The Gunner's Dream is about powerlessness. The door opens suddenly and you find you're face to face with blokes in jackboots in a country like South America or Algeria or France during the Occupation. You cry 'No you can't do that to me — I'll call the police!' and they reply 'We are the police.' Your life slips into a nightmare. The most precious thing in this world is that your life is not controlled by someone else." [TAP 42 & Schaffner 261]

TRACK LISTING
Post War Dream, The
Your Possible Pasts
Hero's Return, The
Gunner's Dream, The
Paranoid Eyes
Get Your Filthy Hands Off My Desert
Fletcher Memorial Home, The
Southampton Dock
Final Cut, The
Not Now John
Two Suns in the Sunset