'39
Queen Paul Rodgers Lyrics
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In the days when lands were few
Here the ship sailed out into the blue and sunny morn
The sweetest sight ever seen
And the night followed day
And the story tellers say
That the score brave souls inside
Ne'er looked back, never feared, never cried
Don't you hear my call though you're many years away
Don't you hear me calling you
Write your letters in the sand
For the day I take your hand
In the land that our grandchildren knew
In the year of '39 came a ship in from the blue
The volunteers came home that day
And they bring good news of a world so newly born
Though their hearts so heavily weigh
For the earth is old and grey, to a new home we'll away
But my love this cannot be
For so many years have gone though I'm older but a year
Your mother's eyes, from your eyes, cry to me
Don't you hear my call though you're many years away
Don't you hear me calling you
All the letters in the sand cannot heal me like your hand
For my life
Still ahead
Pity me
The song '39 by Queen is a beautiful acoustic ballad which tells the story of a group of people who board a ship and travel to a new world with the hope of finding a better life. The song starts with the setting of the journey, assembled are the volunteers in the year 39, when there were few lands. The ship sailed out into the blue and sunny morn creating the sweetest sight ever seen. The night followed day, and the story tellers say that the brave souls inside for many lonely days sailed across the milky seas, ne'er looked back, never feared, never cried. They went on this journey for years with hopes of finding a better life.
As the song progresses, it talks about the hope of reuniting with their loved ones. The singer pleads with someone who is far away to hear his call and write letters in the sand, for the day he takes their hand in the land that their grandchildren knew. The year of '39 comes, and a ship comes into the blue, bringing good news of a world so newly born. Though their hearts are heavy, a new home is a chance to start afresh, and they believe it's worth it. However, the singer cannot go back to his loved ones, for too many years have passed, and they've grown old. His mother's eyes, from the eyes of his loved one, cry to him.
This song has a beautiful melody and poetic lyrics, which exhibit the pain of leaving the people you love and the hope that someday they'll be reunited. The song carries the theme of timelessness because it talks about how our actions will affect our future generations.
Line by Line Meaning
In the year of '39 assembled here the volunteers
Volunteers gathered together in the year 39
In the days when lands were few
Back in the time when there wasn't much land
Here the ship sailed out into the blue and sunny morn
The ship set sail into the beautiful morning sky
The sweetest sight ever seen
It was the most beautiful sight that anyone had ever seen
And the night followed day
The day was followed by night
And the story tellers say
The storytellers say that
That the score brave souls inside
There were many brave people on board
For many a lonely day sailed across the milky seas
They sailed across the vast seas for many days, feeling lonely at times
Ne'er looked back, never feared, never cried
They never looked back, nor did they fear or cry
Don't you hear my call though you're many years away
Can't you hear me calling, even though you're far away?
Don't you hear me calling you
Can't you hear me calling your name?
Write your letters in the sand
Write me letters on the sand
For the day I take your hand
For the day I hold your hand
In the land that our grandchildren knew
In the land that our grandchildren will call home
In the year of '39 came a ship in from the blue
In the year 39, a ship arrived from the sea
The volunteers came home that day
The volunteers returned that day
And they bring good news of a world so newly born
They carried with them the news of a newly born world
Though their hearts so heavily weigh
Although they were sad
For the earth is old and grey, to a new home we'll away
The world is old and worn out, we'll move to a new home
But my love this cannot be
But we can't do that, my love
For so many years have gone though I'm older but a year
It's been so many years even though I'm only a year older
Your mother's eyes, from your eyes, cry to me
I see your mother's eyes in yours, and they make me cry
All the letters in the sand cannot heal me like your hand
Letters on the sand can't heal me the same way your touch does
For my life still ahead pity me
I still have my life ahead of me, but have pity on me
Lyrics © EMI Music Publishing, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: BRIAN MAY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
CrazyChemistPL
Freddie might have been the best showman this world ever seen, but atmosphere and connection with audience that Brian May is capable of creating is simply amazing and magical. And that smile :)
BraydonGuitar
True, Brian's constant push on audience participation is a large contribution to what has made queen the greatest live act in our time
Samovila
He may not have Freddie's power but in some ways, Brian's voice is just as gorgeous. This song is really clever and really beautiful.
Kapwa poe dolomite tala britney
He has Freddie spirit living in his heart both Roger Taylor especially John Deacon
Demis Foster
I LOVE Brians voice on this!! 39 is such a dynamic song, yet he plays it so simply! the man is a GENIUS!! (This song just confirms that!)
Blizzber
i love how Brian needs nothing more than a guitar and one chair to make the show that many of the "greatest talents" nowadays cant make with DJ , 100 dancers on the stage, incredible lights, sound efects and many more...
mikea731
This is my favorite Brian song. He did write some amazing stuff.
Allmanfan456
Brian never lost his voice! So awesome! I love it when the crowd sings!
Marina Drai
This is when I realized how beautiful is the world to have Brian (also to have the music of Queen, of course)!
bechize
Amazing performance by Brian - what a great song. He is actually also a very sympathic human being.