Jeff Wayne War Of The Worlds - Part 1 Lyrics

Journalist:
No one would have believed that
in the last years of the 19th century
that human affairs where being watched
from the timeless worlds of s___e
No one could have dreamed 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 s___e
minds immeasurably superior to ours
regarded this Earth with envious eyes
and slowly and surely
they drew there plans against us.

At midnight on the 12th of August
a huge mass of luminous gas erupted from Mars
and sped towards Earth
Across two-hundred-million miles of void
invisibly hurtling towards us
came the first of the missiles
that were to bring so much calamity to Earth
As I watched there was another jet of gas
It was another missile starting on his way
And that's how it was for the next ten nights
a flair spurting out from Mars
Bright green drawing a green mist behind it
A beautiful but somehow disturbing sight
Ogilvy the astronomer a__ured me we were in no danger
He was convinced there could be no liing thing
on that remote forbidding planet.

# The chances of anything comming from Mars
are a million to one he said
The chances of anything comming from Mars
are a million to one, but still they come !

Then came the night the first missile approached Earth
it was thought to be an ordinary falling star
but next day there was a huge crater
in the middle of the Common
And Ogilvy came to examine what lay there:
A cylinder 30 yards across, glowing hot....
and with faint sounds of movement coming from within
Suddenly the top began moving , rotating , unscrewing
And Ogilvy feared there was a man inside
trying to escape
He rushed to the cylinder
but the intense heat stopped him before
he could burn himself on the metal.

# The chances of anything coming from Mars
are a million to one he said
The chances of anything coming from Mars
are a million to one, but they still come
Yes the chances of anything coming from Mars
are a million to one he said
The chances of anything coming from Mars
are a million to one, but they still come

It seems totally incredible to me now
that everyone spent that evening as
though it were just like any other
From the railway station came the sound of shunting
trains, ringing and rumbling
Softened almost into melody by the distance
It all seemed so safe and tranquil

(HORSELL COMMON AND THE HEAT RAY)

Next morning a crowd gathered on the Common
hypnotized by the unscewing of the cylinder
Two feet of shining screw projected
when, suddenly, the lid fell off
Two luminous disc-like eyes appeared above the rim
A huge rounded bulk larger than a bear rose up slowly
Glistening like wet leather
It's lipless mouth quivered and slavered
And snake-like tentacles writhed
As the clumsy body heaved and pulsated

Two young men crept closer to the pit
A tall funnel rose then an invisible ray of heat
leaped from man to man and there was a bright glare
As each was instantly turned to fire
Every tree and bush became a mass of flames
At the touch of this savage unearthly heat ray

People clawed their way off the Common and I ran too
I felt I was being toyed with
That when I was on the very verge of safety
This mysterious death would leap after me
And strike me down
At last I reached Maybury Hill
And in the dim coolness of my home
I wrote an account for my newspaper
Before I sank into a restless haunted sleep

I awoke to alien sounds of hammering from the pit
and hurried to the railway station to buy the paper
Around me the daily routine of life
working-eating-sleeping
was continuing serenely as it had for countless years
On Horsell Common
the Martians continued hammering and stirring
sleepless indefatigable at work upon the machines
they where making
Now and again a light
like the beam of a warschip's searchlight
swept the Common and the heat ray was ready to follow
In the afternoon a company of soldiers came trough
and aployed along the edge of the Common to form a cordon

That evening there was a violent crash
and I realize with horror
that my home was now in range of the Martian's heat ray
At dawn a falling star with a trail green mist behind it
landed with a flash like summer lightning

This was the second cylinder

Journalist:
The hammering from the pit and the
pouding of guns grew louder
My fear rose at the sound of someone creeping into the house
Then I saw it was a young artillery man
weary , streaked with blood and durt

Artillery man:
Anyone here ?

Journalist:
Come in , here drink this

Artillery man:
Thank you

Journalist:
What's happened ?

Artillery man:
They wiped out.
Hundreds dead - maybe thousands

Journalist:
The Heat Ray ?

Artillery man:
The Martians !
They were inside the hoods of the machines they'd made
Massive metal things on legs !
Giants machines that walked
They attact us !
They wiped us out !

Journalist:
Machines ?

Artillery man:
Fighting machines !
Picking up men and bashing 'em against trees
Just hunks of metal
but they knew exactly what they are doing

Journalist:
Hmmm there was another cylinder came last night

Artillery man:
Yes it looked bound for London

Journalist:
London !
Carie !
I had'nt dreamed there could be danger to Carrie
and her father so many miles away
I must go to London at once

Artillery man:
And me
Got to report to my headquarters
If there's anything left of it

Journalist:
At Byfleet we came upon a Inn
but it was deserted

Artillery man
Is everybody dead ?

Journalist:
Not everybody
Look !
Six cannons with gunners standing by

Artillery man:
It's bows and arrows against the lightning
They haven'd seen the Heat Ray yet

Journalist:
We hurried along the road to Weybridge
Suddely there was a heavy explosion
The Ground heaved
Windows shatterd
And guts of smoke erupted into the air

Artillery man:
LOOK !
THERE THEY ARE !
WHAT DID I TELL YOU ?

Journalist:
Quickly
One after the other four fighting machines appeared
Monstous tripots higher than the highest steeple
striding over the pine trees and smashing them
Walking engines of glittering metal
Each carried a huge funnel and I realized with horror
that i've seen this awful thing before

A fifth machine appeared on the far bank
It raised itself to full hight
flourished the funnel high in the air
And the ghostly terrible heat Ray
struck the town

Journalist:
As it struck all five fighting machines exulted
emitting deafening howls which roared like thunder

Martians:
ULLA !
ULLA !

Journalist:
The six guns we have seen now fired simultaneously
decapitating a fighting machine
The Martion inside the hood was slain
splashed to the four winds
and the body nothing now but an intricate device of metal
went whirling to distruction
As the other monsters advanced people ran away blindly
the artillery man among them
But I jumped into the water and hid until forced up to breathe
Now the guns spoke again
but this time the Heat Ray sent them to oblivion

Martians:
ULLA !

Journalist:
Whit a white flash the Heat Ray swept across the river
Scalded half blinded and agonized
I staggered through leaping hissing water towards the shore
I fell helplessly in full side of the Martians
exepting nothing but death
The foot of a Fighting Machine came down close to my head
then lifted again as the four Martians carried away the debris
of there fallen comrade....
And I realized that by a miracle I had escaped

FOREVER AUTUMN AND THE THUNDERCHILD

Journalist:
For three days I fought my way along roads packed with refugees
the homeless , burdened with boxes and bundles containing there
valuables
All that was of value to me was in London
but by the time I reached there little red brick house
Carrie and her father were gone

#The summer sun is fading as the year grows old
and darker days are drawing near
The winter winds will be mutch colder
Now your not here

#I wached the birds fly south across the autumn sky
And one by one they disappear
I wish that I could flying with them
Now your not here
Like the sun trough the trees you came to love me
Like a leaf on a breeze you blew away

#Trough autumn's golden gown we used to kick away
You always loved this time of year
Those fallen leaves lie undisturbed now
'Cause you're not here
'Cause you're not here
'Cause you're not here

Journalist:
Fire suddely leaped from house to house
The population panicked and ran
And I was swept along with them
Aimless and lost without Carrie
Finally I headed for the ocean
and my only hope of survival , a boat out of England

#Like the sun trough the trees you came to love me
Like a leaf on a breeze you blew away
A gentle rain falles softly on my weary eyes
As if to hide a lonely tear
My lift will be forever autumn
'Cause you're not here
'Cause you're not here
'Cause you're not here

Journalist:
As I hasted trough Covent Garden , Blackfrairs and Billingsgate
more and more people joined the painful exodus
Sad , weary woman
their children stumbling and streaked with tears
their men bitter and angry
the rich rubbing shoulders with baggers and outcasts
Dogs snarled and whined the horses bits were covered with foam
and here and there were wounded soldiers as helpless as the rest
We saw tripods wading up the Thames cutting trough bridges
as though they were paper Waterloo bridge , Westminister bridge
one appeared above Big Ben

Martians:
ULLA !!

Journalist:
Never before in the history of the world
had such mass of human beings moved and sufferd together
This was no disiplined march it was a stampede
without order and without a goal six million people
unarmed and unprovisioned driving headlong
It was the beginning of the road to civilazation
of the massacre of mankind
A vast crowd buffeted me towards the already packed steamer
I looked up enviously at those safe on board
straight into the eyes of my beloved Carrie
At sight of me she began to fight her way along the packed deck
to the gangplank- at that very moment it was raised
and I caughed the last glimpse of her despairing face
as the crowd swept me away from her

#Like the sun trough the trees you came to love me
Like a leaf on a breeze you blew away
Trough autumn's golden gow we used to kick our way
You always loved this time of year
Those fallen leaves lie undisturbed now
'Cause you're not here
'Cause you're not here
'Cause you're not here

Martians:
ULLA !!

Journalist:
The steamer began to move slowly away
but on the horizon appeared the silhouette of a fighting machine
Another came and another striding over hills and trees
pulling far out to sea and blocking the exit of the steamer
Between them lay the silent gray ironclad "Thunderchild"
Slowly it moved towards shore
Then with a deafening roar and whoosh of spray
it swung about and drove at full speed towards the waiting Martians

People:
#There were ships of shapes and sizes
Scattered out along the bay
And I thought I heard her calling
As the steamer pulled away
the invaders must have seen them
As across the coast they filed
Standing firm between them
There lay "Thunder Child"

#Moving swiftly through the waters
Cannons blazing as she came
Brought a mighty metal warlord
Crashing down in sheets of flame
Sesing victory was nearing
Thinking fortune must have smilled
Poeple started cheering
'Come on "Thunder Child"
'Come on "Thunder Child"

Journalist:
The Martians releast their black smoke
But the ship sped on
Cutting down one of the tripod figures
Instantly the others raised there Heat Rays
and melted the Thunder Child's valiant heart

People:
# Lashing ropes and smashing timbers
Flashing Heat Ray hits the deck
Dashing hopes for our deliverance
As we watched the sinking wreck
with the smoke of battle clearing
Over graves in waves defiled
Slowly disappearing
Farewell "Thunder Child"
Slowly disappearing
Farewell "Thunder Child"
Farewell "Thunder Child"
Farewell "Thunder Child"

Journalist:
When the smoke cleared the little steamer
had reached the misty horizon and Carrie was safe
But the "Thunder Child" had vanised forever
taking with her mans last hope of victory
The leaden sky was lit by green flashes
cylinder folowing cylinder and no one and nothing
was left now to fight them
The Earth belonged to the Martians

Martians:
Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuulllllllllllllllllllllllllaaaaaaaaaaaaa !!!!!