Eve of the war

https://www.discogs.com/release/164402-Jeff-Wayne-The-Eve-Of-The-War

https://www.discogs.com/release/1828472-Jeff-Wayne-The-Eve-Of-The-War

No one would have believed
In the last years of the nineteenth century
That human affairs were being watched
From the timeless worlds of space
No one could have dreamed that we were being scrutinized
As someone with a microscope studies creatures
That swarm and multiply in a drop of water
Few men even considered the possibility of life on other planets
And yet, across the gulf of space
Minds immeasurably superior to ours
Regarded this Earth with envious eyes
And slowly and surely, they drew their plans against us

I’m pretty sure that at least of people my age get the chills from this text. In their mind they can hear the voice they know from Jeff Wayne’s recording of the musical version of War of the Worlds: Richard Burton.

In most countries, Forever autumn was the more popular song, but somehow in the Netherlands it was Eve of the war, the first single of the album. It portrays a world that cannot imagine Martians coming, shortly before they actually came to invade the earth.

Jeff Wayne still did tours with his hit musical in 2021, and I’m pretty sure he will keep doing that as long as he can. He is now 78.

I have this record in two versions btw, which is why I added two links to discogs.