The Price of a Mile by Sabaton Lyrics Meaning – Unearthing the Haunting Realities of War
Lyrics
Hear it echo in the night
Mortals firing rains the scene
Scars the fields
That once were green
It’s a stalemate at the front line
Where the soldiers rest in mud
Roads and houses
All is gone
There is no glory to be won
know that many men will suffer
Know that many men will die
Half a million lives at stake
Ask the fields of Passchendaele
And as the night falls the general calls
And the battle carries on and on
How long?
What is the purpose of it all
What’s the price of a mile?
Thousands of feet march to the beat
It’s an army on the march
Long way from home
Paying the price in young men’s lives
Thousands of feet march to the beat
It’s an army in despair
Knee-deep in mud
Stuck in the trench with no way out
Thousands of machineguns
Kept on firing through the night
Mortars blazed and wrecked the scene
Guns in the fields that once were green
Still a deadlock at the front line
Where the soldiers die in mud
Roads and houses since long gone
Still no glory has been won
Know that many men has suffered
Know that many men has died
Six miles of ground has been won
Half a million men are gone
And as the men crawled the general called
And the killing carried on and on
How long?
What’s the purpose of it all?
What’s the price of a mile?
Thousands of feet march to the beat
It’s an army on the march
Long way from home
Paying the price in young men’s lives
Thousands of feet march to the beat
It’s an army in despair
Knee-deep in mud
Stuck in the trench with no way out
Young men are dying
They pay the price
Oh how they suffer
So tell me what’s the price of a mile
That’s the price of a mile.
Thousands of feet march to the beat
It’s an army on the march
Long way from home
Paying the price in young men’s lives
Thousands of feet march to the beat
It’s an army in despair
Knee-deep in mud
Stuck in the trench with no way out
In the haunting ballad ‘The Price of a Mile,’ Sabaton crafts a grim tapestry of warfare that transcends the bounds of metal and enters the realm of poignant historical reflection. The Swedish power metal band is known for its war-themed discography, yet here they plunge into the specific horrors of World War I’s Battle of Passchendaele, examining the human cost of military stalemates.
The song doesn’t merely resonate with aggressive guitar riffs and thundering drums; it evokes the visceral and muddy trenches of yesteryear’s battlefields. It questions the worth of geopolitical gains when weighed against the staggering loss of life. Amidst the powerful musical composition, each lyric serves as a stark reminder of the fragility and valor of the human spirit caught in the crossfire.
Metal Meets History: The Battle of Passchendaele
The backdrop of ‘The Price of a Mile’ is the infamous Battle of Passchendaele, also known as the Third Battle of Ypres, which epitomized the brutal attrition warfare of the First World War. Sabaton doesn’t just tell a story; they immerse the listener in the bleak, churned earth where countless soldiers suffered and fell.
Through the juxtaposition of relentless drumming and the imagery of ‘thousands of feet march[ing] to the beat,’ the song channels the inexorable advance of soldiers into the jaws of a conflict that devours life with industrial efficiency, painting a picture of the inhuman conditions these men faced.
The Human Cost: Echoes in the Mud
By repeating the phrase ‘knee-deep in mud, stuck in the trench with no way out,’ Sabaton underscores the literal and metaphorical struggle of World War I soldiers. The mud is not just a natural element; it becomes a symbol of the quagmire of war that traps and consumes the lives of the young men sent to fight.
The song’s chorus poses a rhetorical yet deeply incisive question: ‘What’s the price of a mile?’ It’s a question that begs the listener to consider if any territorial gain could justify the immense loss of life – the exchange rate of soil soaked in blood for mileage on a map.
The Hidden Meaning: War’s Endless Cycle
Though the song explicitly references World War I, there’s a timeless quality to its sorrowful interrogation of war’s futility. ‘The Price of a Mile’ speaks to the cyclical nature of military engagements where history repeats its bloodiest chapters despite the so-called lessons of the past.
Sabaton crafts each stanza like a somber reflection on the pointlessness of specific engagements within larger conflicts. The generals call and the soldiers follow, but to what end? The song subtly questions the structures of power that propagate this cycle.
Memorable Lines: The Crux of Conflict
‘Young men are dying, they pay the price, oh how they suffer’ – with these piercing words, Sabaton draws listeners into the emotional vestibule of wartime reality. It’s a vivid reminder of the true face of conflict: not the medals, not the parades, but the raw human toll on the battlefield.
This line, and the repeated questioning of the eponymous ‘price,’ strikes deep into the psyche, compelling audiences to see beyond the glory and pageantry often associated with war to the stark, harrowing personal experiences of soldiers.
Legacy and Reflection – A Call to Never Forget
Sabaton has long performed the role of the bard in the metal scene, telling tales of valor and horror with equal fervor. This song, in particular, stands as a monument not to war itself, but to the men whose lives were bartered for the ambitions of empires.
‘The Price of a Mile’ invites a sober reflection on the true cost of battles long past and, perhaps more pointedly, on the continued price humanity pays for conflict. It’s a call to remember, to learn, and, one can hope, to eventually break the cycle Sabaton so powerfully laments.
