The Hero's Return

The Hero's Return 2:57

Lyrics:
Jesus, Jesus, what's it all about?
Trying to clout these little ingrates into shape
When I was their age all the lights went out
There was no time to whine and mope about

And even now part of me flies
Over Dresden at Angels One Five
Though they'll never fathom it
Behind my sarcasm desperate memories lie

Sweetheart, sweetheart, are you fast asleep?
Good
That's the only time that I can really speak to you
And there is something that I've locked away
A memory that is too painful
To withstand the light of day

And when we came back from the war
The banners and flags hung on everyone's door
We danced and we sang in the street
And the church bells rang
But burning in my heart
The memory smolders on
Of the gunner's dying words on the intercom

...what the fuck?

Being one of the better tracks on the album, this song was released as a B-side to the Not Now John single, complete with an extra verse labeled as The Hero's Return part II (see the single entry for The Hero's Return Parts I and II).

Imagery of the war is intermingled with present-day angst as memories of the past haunt the schoolmaster. 'Angels one five' is flier's code for altitude, meaning 15,000 feet. At the end we hear what must be 'the gunner's dying words on the intercom' but they seem deliberately obscured. 'The Gunner' is Eric F. Waters.

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