COVER
TRACKS (CLICK ON THE PLAYER TO START SONGS)
Lyrics and Song Meanings
00: LIED DER DEUTSCHEN
National Anthem, pre-Nazi Germany
01: PROLOGUE (11 o'clock) - present
opening in which we meet the Soldier. he's getting ready, steeling himself for the events to come. main theme of this song is the Soldier's theme.
Eleven AM, Twenty July, 1944
Meeting today in the Wolf's Lair,
And maybe the end of the war.
The Soldier's prepared, the Soldier's in place
Ready to follow through.
The Fatherland calls, he is the one,
The Soldier knows what to do
02: THE SOLDIER'S NIGHTMARE -flashback
the first part of the song is a flashback in which we see into the Soldier's fever-and-drug induced hallucinations. there are two voices in this part, the Narrator and Hitler. the chorus is a set of nightmare voices chanting at the Soldier. the second verse is the Soldier slowly waking up and slowly coming out of his state. the three voices here are the Narrator, a Nurse and the Soldier. then the chorus. then, the third part of the song is a return to the Soldier's Theme, in which the Soldier is awake and coherent, and has decided that he must DO something.
Narrator: twisted and rising, crosses and flames
Hitler: Let the children come unto me
Narrator: a chorus of children sing out his name
Hitler: Let the sick come unto me!
Narrator: jackboots and helmets marching to hell
Hitler: You are mine, and I am yours!
Narrator: leave smoking victims to rot where they fell
Hitler: Touch my robe and you'll be cured!
nightmare voices: homeland! race! blood! soil! mother! sacrafice!!!
Narrator: twisted and writhing, he screams out in pain
Nurse: rest now, Colonel, it won't be long
Narrator: damaged in body, demented in brain
Soldier: i can't see! what's going wrong?!?
Narrator: burning with fever, suffering hell
Nurse: rest now, rest. the morphine's here
Narrator: awake now or dreaming, no way to tell
Soldier: now my role is crystal clear
nightmare voices: homeland! race! blood! soil! mother! sacrafice!!!
Awake now at last, half of a man,
Scarred now through and through.
The Soldier's aware, he's been betrayed,
And so, he knows now what he must do.
03: CONSPIRATORS - flashback
in which we come upon the original conspirators, planless and directionless. they welcome in the Soldier, who begins formulating Operation Valkyrie out of shame and regret. the third part of the song is where the Soldier hides Op:V in the open...he shows it to Hitler.
Developing plans to topple a man
Who misled the people and betrayed the land.
Conspiracy men wait for a when
A moment to strike the Wolf inside his den.
Conspiracy...intrigue...conspirators.
(trust no one)
They need something bold, a mind that is cold,
They welcome the Soldier into the fold.
He plots out his game, driven by shame
So all of the future will not curse his name.
Conspiracy...intrigue...conspirators.
(trust no one)
Here is the Plan I promised you,
It's called Valkyrie
Combats insurgents, rebellion
Shows them all our strength, you see
If anything should happen
In a land we've occupied
In case we lose communication,
What if all your leaders died?
We set Valkyrie in motion
Should the SS fall
It will work in any country...
Any country at all
04: ASSASSIN - flashback
the Soldier interviews candidates for the job, despairing that he won't find the right person. in the closing of the tune, he finally decides that he must do it himself.
Searching ranks of men for the one
Suicide mission must be done
Dozens interviewed, all denied
What price failure now?
Where would they hope to find
The man who would destroy the Wolf?
Noble heart, Assassin's mind.
Men to carry bombs, men to die
Killers without qualms, men who cry
Dozens interviewed, none were right
What price failure now?
Where would they hope to find
The man who would destroy the Wolf?
Noble heart, Assassin's mind.
I will sentence none to their death
This is my mission to my last breath
All the pressure now is on me
What price failure now?
05: ACID FUSES - present
four-part instrumental, lasting the same amount of time as the fuses of the bomb that the Soldier carries into a meeting with Hitler
ACID FUSES: 0:00 - 2:20
this first movement of Acid Fuses takes place as The SOLDIER is breaking the fuses and making the bomb ready, and continues to follow him until he has made his way into the meeting with Hitler.
SITTING WITH THE DEVIL: 2:21 - 4:59
the second movement of Acid Fuses occures while The SOLDIER is waiting in the room with Hitler and an armed explosive. During this time, the SOLDIER can feel Hitler's eyes on him, and the power perceived in the eyes of the madman makes him want to back out of the assassination attempt. The SOLDIER overcomes this, places the briefcase containing the bomb, and leaves.
THE LONG WALK: 5:00 - 7:59
during this, the third movement of Acid Fuses, the SOLDIER is making his way from Hitler's conference room to the car where his co-conspirator awaits. He has bluffed his way out of the conference room where he left the bomb, and with every step towards the car, his confidence grows and his mood lifts.
FINAL MINUTES: 8:00 - 10:14
in the final movement of Acid Fuses, we sit with The SOLDIER in his car with one of the co-conspirators while they wait for the bomb to explode. It takes too long...they get nervous, and then finally, ten minutes after the acid fuses were set...
06: 12:42 - present
this is the time of day when the bomb goes off. the first verse is the blast, the second is the Soldier's escape from the Wolf's Lair, the third is the SS finally figuring out where the blast came from.
Blast of light, a bolt from Hell
A loaded briefcase, tool of murder
Burning bright, the heavens fell
To strike a blow to kill the Fuhrer
The Lair's aflame, quest fulfilled
The Soldier knew the Fuhrer had died
In this game, four were killed
But not the man that we had tried
To kill
RUN! LIE! FLY! AAAAAH!!!
Past the guards, bold as sin
Out the gates and to the airplane
Played our cards, played to win
Tempting fates, successful campaign
Escaped the lair, clean as hell
Too close now, we won't be denied
Unaware that Nazis fell,
But not the man that we had tried
To kill
Who's to Blame? Find and kill!
Search the Lair and find the guilty
Guessing game, missing still
Is the one who left early
Close the gates, block the roads
Keep the traitors on the inside
Destroying when the bomb explodes,
But not the man that they had tried
To kill
07: A NUMBER OF THINGS - present
a simple enumeration of the small things that add up to the monumental catastrophe that Op:V has become.
From the start, something went wrong
Instead of a duo, armed only one bomb
That set the pace for the day.
While we were getting away to our plane
We did not know the attempt was in vain
So went out the word, Valkyrie
Radio silence was thought to be had
But there are messages flying like mad
Who knows just what we have done?
Arresting the army went well in Berlin
And then, when finally it seemed that we'd win,
A phone call from the Wolf, and we were done.
SS and soldiers broke free and attacked,
Outnumbered, hopeless, but still we fought back
The lucky ones died that day.
Firing squad for when we arrived,
How could the Feuhrer be somehow alive?
"Any number of things have gone wrong."
A number of things didn't go as we planned.
Don't take for granted what's not in your hand.
08: ONE A.M. - present
Hitler's radio speech to Germany, letting everyone know that he's still alive and he's survived an attempt by his own officers...more evidence from God that he was meant to be on the path that he's on.
09: EPILOGUE (10,000 DEAD) - afterword
detailing the myriad tragedies that befall the Conspirators, the Soldier, and thier families and friends. all in all, over 10,000 people are executed or sent to concentration camps because of their involvement (real or imaginary) in Op:V.
The plot that became 20 July, 1944
Started a wave that would go on
Until the end of the war.
Some men were hanged, some men were shot
Some chose suicide
No one was spared, children and wives
If they were suspected, they died
Meathooks and wire, or in the camps
No execution stayed
No questions asked, assume you were dead
If a connection was made
The jury a sham, a trial just for show
Ledgers dripping red
Valkyrie failed, and in its wake
A trail of ten thousand dead.