In Your Arms
War Lyrics

Race to the sea they meet at Ypre
The opposing armies raced towards Ypres and finally met there.

The Germans dig in their artillery will greet ya
The German army entrenched themselves near Ypres and were prepared to engage in a massive artillery battle.

The Belgiums desperate open up the dykes
The Belgians, desperate to fend off the Germans, opened the dykes and caused the city to flood.

The city now a river separate the two sides
The city of Ypres was now flooded, resulting in a river that separated the opposing sides.

The allied forces now lay siege under fire
The Allied forces attacked the German army and engaged in a large-scale gunfight.

A war of motion now a war that is mired
The war that started as a war of motion turned into a bloody stalemate.

The allies dig in though their trenches will flood
The Allied forces created trenches to protect themselves from German attacks, despite the fact that the trenches would flood and cause them to suffer.

It's the only relief from the death from above
The trenches were the only way the Allied forces could protect themselves from the German artillery and aircraft above.

The shells they scream the shells they whistle
The sound of German shells was loud and frightening.

The bullets chip away at the homes and cathedrals
The bullets from both the German and Allied forces damaged the buildings in and around Ypres.

The soldiers they will say start to suffer it is measured
Soldiers on both sides began to suffer, and the extent of their suffering is recorded and documented.

Not only in death but how it comes so procedural
The suffering of soldiers was not limited to death, but also extended to the procedural nature of war.

The two sides locked up in a conflict that lingers
The two sides were engaged in a war that seemed to have no end in sight.

Decisive victory alluding both slip through fingers
Both sides failed to achieve a decisive victory, despite their efforts.

And your life, matters not in this cauldron
In the midst of war, individual lives were of little significance.

Of dirt and blood sounds are silenced so poignant
The sounds of war were silenced by the heavy toll it took on human life and suffering.

You see infantry is rendered so useless
The use of infantry in modern warfare was becoming increasingly ineffective.

Rifles and movement are a thing of the past
The use of rifles and movement in the battlefield was becoming obsolete.

Fast see the lessons their learning
Both sides of the war were quickly learning the harsh lessons of modern warfare.

Artillery and machine guns death is fast
The most deadly weapons in modern warfare were artillery and machine guns which killed quickly.

It's on a scale that's never seen before
The war was fought on a scale that humankind had never seen before.

And all around the city they will see the gore
The area around the city of Ypres was covered in the gore and destruction of war.

This battle is fought in the marshes and the meadows
The battle between the German and Allied forces was fought in marshes, meadows, fields, forests, and streets.

In the fields in the forest its obscene but its war
The destruction of natural habitats and resources during wartime was a cruel reality.

The city is choked by the smoke that just bellows
The city of Ypres was choked by the smoke of gun and artillery fire.

Out of every gun the allies will amass
The Allied forces had several types of guns at their disposal.

Everything turning into ruins at their feet
The guns used in the war were so powerful that entire buildings were reduced to rubble at their feet.

The dirt in your boots is common place you won't last
The mud and dirt in the trenches was so common that soldiers could hardly survive for long periods of time.

Both sides are loathed to even give an inch
Both sides of the war were unwilling to compromise or give up any ground to their opponents.

Ypre in the crosshairs as both sides try to pinch
Ypres was a strategic location and both sides were trying to win control of it.

Squeeze out each other and break out the other side
Both sides were trying to 'squeeze out' each other and break out onto the other side of the conflict.

But all you hear is thunder of the guns before you die
The last thing a soldier would hear before dying was the thundering sound of the guns.

Dirt in your boots
Soldiers often had to fight in muddy and dirty conditions.

Remember it well
The memories of war were unforgettable and often traumatic.

Even in your fingernails
The dirt and mud matted under soldiers' nails in almost every circumstance.

You can hear the guns
The sound of gun battles was deafening in the warzone.

You can hear the shells
The sound of bombs and artillery was easily audible during the war.

And the water
The flooded waters of Ypres were a constant reminder of the carnage that was occurring.

The water bleeds through you can tell
The water in the trenches was muddied with the blood of soldiers and the wounded.

This is hell
The warzone was a hellish place for soldiers and civilians alike.

And it awaits
The looming threat of death and war always awaited soldiers.

This is war
The destruction and horror of war was always present.

And its stalemate
Neither side was able to gain any significant advantage and the war remained a 'stalemate.'

At Ypre
The song is specifically about the conflict that occurred in Ypres.

It is clear this war will be long
The war was expected to last for a considerable amount of time.

The race to the sea has stalled
Both sides raced towards the sea but were ultimately stopped at Ypres.

You can hear the guns at dawn
The sound of gun battles was audible at all hours of the day, even at dawn.

You can count dead all along
The violence of the war was so significant that the dead could be found throughout the battlefield.

Both sides dig in
Both sides entrenched themselves in Ypres.

The trenches are extensive
Both sides created trenches that were dug out over long distances.

Breaking their will
The objective of the conflict was to break the will of the other side and win.

Is the mission
The mission of the war was to achieve victory over the other side.

Machine guns poised to cut down if they venture
Machine guns were set up to hack down enemy soldiers if they attempted to cross no man's land.

Over the top cut down never mentioned
The futility of attempting to cross no man's land was never explicitly mentioned.

And in between the lines
Between the trenches, there was a no man's land where soldiers were hesitant to cross.

Barbed wire is rendered
Barbed wire was set up as an obstacle to prevent enemy soldiers from crossing.

This is no man's land
The area between the trenches was referred to as 'no man's land' for the absence of military ownership.

Where the men will go missing
The danger of no man's land came from the high risk of soldiers being lost or killed there.

Sink into the craters sink into the mud
The danger of the battlefield came from soldiers sinking into mud pits and bomb craters.

That seeps through the earth
The water and mud on the battlefield made the conditions difficult for troops.

And meets the rain from above
The rain from above met with the mud of the battlefield.