Track of the Week: Evening Over Rooftops by Edgar Broughton Band

"How far are we from dying / Is it nearly at an end?" Chilling, this week's song, "Evening Over Rooftops" by Edgar Broughton Band from their self-titled 1971 album, cries out to be played loud and thereby to take over your mind. There are a few reasons why I am playing this song repeatedly:

• The first few seconds of violins sound insane.
• The lyrics are insane.
• The song makes me go insane.

From the opening to the close, the song paints a bleak picture of life. I have no idea what the lyrics mean (I'm no literary expert and I possess little to no poetic ability), but it seems like, aside from the chorus, the lyrics could be some standard happy, hippie song.

And as the song goes on, the desperation of the band becomes apparent with the singer straining his voice to paint a picture of this strange column of birds that appear to be evidence of some terrible event.

I don't get this song. And I love it.



Lyrics
The air was thick like honey
Looking from a room
The room had open windows
To let this springtime through

Evening stood by watchin'
At the side of summer's promise
The flowers in her garden
Were the envy of her friends

How far are we from dying
Is it nearly at an end?
How far are we from dying
Is it nearly at an end?

The smoke hung on the skyline
The city fell in silence
The sunset, ripe and mellow
Was the light to write some thoughts by

Her children watched for father
From a window in the wall
Said a prayer for grandpapa
And maybe many more

Somewhere in the distance
On the road so far away
I heard the sound of life
Though the people left for home

Three birds flew off a building
Standing proud against the sky
Many more flew with them
Spiralled up like laughter

Faster, harder
They rose up in a column
Hundreds upon hundreds
And twice that many wingspeed

Four miles across
Stretched a million miles high
The living pulsing column
In the lady of the sky

Feathers thrashed together
Locked in that huge swarm
I knew no-one could see it
And now that it was gone

I rubbed my eyes and tried to find
A reason for the flight
Exodus, escape
Or was it just for me to see?

Like the mating of the earth and air
Like water is to flowers
The envy of her friends
How far are we from dying, is it nearly at an end?

How far are we from dying
Is it nearly at an end?
How far are we from dying
Is it nearly at an end?

Sample
Evening Over Rooftops by Edgar Broughton Band