Endless... please comment

Endless

When the battles are all fought,
And the soldiers all gone home,
Will you still be selling tickets,
To Washington's own Rome,
When every bullet has been shot,
And every battleship retired,
Will liberty's own flame,
Scorch the weary and the tired.

And there shall come a day,
When parades have begun,
And everything seems endless,
As constant as the sun.

And if there comes a time,
When soldiers grow immune,
Will you take from them their families,
And hope their hopes are strewn,
It seems to me that years ago,
All evil did was kill,
Why then do we torment,
Is it for gases or for thrills?

And there shall come a day,
When parades have begun,
And everything seems endless,
As constant as the sun.

And if the sun should die,
Then we would all die too,
I'll ask you was it worth it,
To take a Sunday afternoon

Bump... can someone please comment...

Hi,

I like the first verse best.

Two expressions I don't understand:
Why then do we torment,
Is it for gases or for thrills?

"gases"? If you mean gas=oil - there is no plural, if you mean gas - there is a plural, but it would mean different gases, not gas as a ressource. Either makes no sense to me.

I'll ask you was it worth it,
To take a Sunday afternoon

I don't get the idea of the last line, sorry.

Bernd

Thanks for your input. The "gases" part is supposed to be gases as in like "have a gas," or something, like if somethings funny. I don't know if that's an actual expression or term used, but I thought it was when I wrote the song. However there's also supposed to be an allusion to gas as a recourse.

The last line basically, is that was all the death and money and everything worth it, because war (I think) has gotten away from just a means of self-defense, and when there are wars it usually completely shatters the everyday lives of at least one of the countries. A "sunday afternoon" is usually, at least in America, a time when people relax and try to get away from the stress, or just live their lives as they normally would. So taking that away is meant to be like we're taking away their everyday, normal lives.

... I hope that makes sense, I don't think I explained it very well.

okay, I got the "gas" bit (I still remember "jumping jack flash - it's a gas, gas, gas") - but I don't think the plural works here either. You might say "is it just for fun or for thrills", abandoning the second meaning. I would still suggest the singular, though, which in the eyes/ears of most readers/listeners would refer to natural resources.

As for the spoilt Sunday, without your explanation I'd have stood no chance to get the idea.

Cheers,
Bernd