Everything but the Girl - The Night I Heard Caruso Sin
Everything but the Girl - The Night I Heard Caruso Sing


Everything but the Girl - The Night I Heard Caruso Sing Youtube Music Videos and Lyrics

Album: Idlewild
Released: 1988

The Night I Heard Caruso Sing Lyrics


Born from the dark
In the black cloak of night
To envelop its prey below
Deliver to the light
To eliminate your enemy
Hit them in their sleep
And when all is won and lost
The spoils of wars are yours to keep

Great nations built from the bones of the dead
With mud and straw, blood and sweat
You know your worth when your enemies
Praise your architecture of aggression

Praise your architecture of aggression
Ensuing power vacuum
A toppled leader dies
His body fuels the power fire
And the flames rise to the sky
One side of his face a kiss
The other genocide
Time to pay with your ass
A worldwide suicide

Great nations built from the bones of the dead
With mud and straw, blood and sweat
You know your worth when your enemies
Praise your architecture of aggression

Born from the dark
In the black cloak of the night
To envelop its prey below
Deliver to the light
To eliminate your enemy
Hit them in their sleep
And when all is won and lost
The spoils of war are yours to keep

Great nations built from the bones of the dead
With mud and straw, blood and sweat
You know your worth when your enemies
Praise your architecture of aggression

Great nations built from the bones of the dead
With mud and straw, blood and sweat
You know your worth when your enemies
Praise your architecture of aggression

Writer/s: MUSTAINE, DAVE/ELLEFSON, DAVE
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

The Night I Heard Caruso Sing
  • The song appears on the duo's fourth album Idlewild. Ben Watt wrote the war-conscious tune in the mid-'80s after driving with his dad to Scotland to revisit some of his old stomping grounds. One of the places they went to was the Holy Loch, which was used as a submarine base in World War II.

    In our interview with Watt , he told us about his experience of standing on the edge of the Holy Loch and a nuclear submarine surfacing right in front of them, calling it "A startling moment." He explained how the story of the song is more than just about hearing the Italian operatic tenor, Enrico Caruso, sing for the first time and restoring his faith in humanity. "The song is about the redemptive power of music," said Watt. "Not just Caruso - to make sense of life, to offer succor and wonder, even when life itself may seem frightening and unknowable."
  • Unlike most EBTG songs, Ben Watt sings the lead vocals on this one. Tracey Thorn joins in to sing harmonies with Watt at the 1:30 mark.