Download "The Siegfried Line"

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Oh, they say the English have given up the war
And we heard the Russians won't last through ‘44
But a longtime soldier has an open mind 
And a man grows old on The Siegfried Line

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       "The Siegfried Line" is Billy's first song about war, years before "Goodnight Saigon" on 1982's The Nylon Curtain.   The Siegfried Line was a fortification system constructed under orders of Adolf Hitler during the late 1930s along the Western and Northern borders of Germany.  Known as the West Wall in Germany, but dubbed the "Siegfried Line" by the British, it was a symbol of Germany's defensive line and overcoming it, and the numerous bunkers and natural obstacles was an important part of the Allied Forces campaign in World War II.  Billy is a history buff and has said that if hadn't become a musician, he would have considered being a history teacher.

   The song is told from a soldier's perspective, just like the later "Goodnight Saigon" and "Christmas in Fallujah."  Rather than "Playboy," "soft soap," and "Bob Hope" from the 1960s, the soldiers in World War II in Europe had "Dutch chocolate" and "French wine."  The song seems to be from the perspective of soldiers who are waiting for the war to officially end, as the fighting has largely already ended ("all the guns are silent"). 

    The melody and accompaniment is simple, just Billy on acoustic guitar.   This was apparently a demo track. 

The Siegfried Line                               <<              >>
(My Lives) (2005) (recorded 1973)

All the guns are silent on the Western Wall
And we clean the rifles that we never use at all
And we're writing letters just to pass the time 
And the days go by 
On the Siegfried Line

Oh, they say the English have given up the war
And we heard the Russians won't last through ‘44
But a longtime soldier has an open mind 
And a man grows old
On the Siegfried Line

Soon, soon they say the war will be over, oh, oh
Home, home, we will be home in the summer, no, no

Oh we light the campfire and we drink the beer
And we know the flag we fly must last a thousand years
And we eat Dutch chocolate and we drink French wine
And they feed us well
On the Siegfried Line

Soon, soon they say the war will be over, oh, oh
Home, home, we will come home in the summer, la, la, la

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"The Siegfried Line" from My Lives

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