Lyrics for '39 as interpreted by f_mercury

'39 Lyrics
In the year of '39 assembled here the Volunteers
In the days when lands were few
Here the ship sailed out into the blue and sunny morn
Sweetest sight ever seen

And the night followed day
And the storytellers day
That the score brave souls inside
For many a lonely day sailed across the milky seas
Ne'er looked back, never feared, never cried

Don't you hear my call though you're many years away?
Don't you hear me calling you?
Write your letters in the sand
For the day I take your hand
In the land that our grandchildren knew

In the year of '39 came a ship in from the blue
The Volunteers came home that day
And they bring good news of a world so newly born
Oh, their hearts so heavily weigh

For the earth is old and gray, little darling we'll away
But my love this cannot be
For so many years have gone, though I'm older but a year
Your mother's eyes, from your eyes cry to me

Don't you hear my call though you're many years away?
Don't you hear me calling you?
Write your letters in the sand
For the day I take your hand
In the land that our grandchildren knew

Don't you hear my call though you're many years away?
Don't you hear me calling you?
All your letters in the sand cannot heal me like your hand
For my life still ahead, pity me

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dhaval
06-17-2002

Rated 0 
This is a GREAT song! At first you think it's a song about the Pilgrims sailing out for the New World, which the first verse captures the spirit of very nicely. In the second verse you realize this must have been a Strarship of sorts. "For so many years have gone, but I'm older but a year." The Volunteers have returned to Earth after a significant time has passed (whether this is because of cryogenics or Einstein's relativity is beside the point). Now the singer realizes all he has loved has passed away, and he is still there.

I love the line "In the land that our grandchildren knew."



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blue
03-26-2003

Rated 0 
i love this song too! i especially love the "Ne'er looked back, never feared, never cried." and "All my life Still ahead Pity Me." just the way brian may sings it is fantastic.

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gmandi1708
04-29-2003

Rated 0 
i have to say well dun fgor gettin the star ship bit! i was well confuzzled at that point! Yeah wikid song! Wikid Brian- wot a guy!!!

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vandenberg
06-13-2003

Rated 0 
I think the starship comment is a bit wacky. the song must be in part about going away, perhaps off to war (1939), or anywhere ... doubtful he was referring to a spaceship. May is an astronomer but, I still don't agree with it.

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randland
06-13-2003

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I definitely feel that this song is about space travel. He even talks about the volunteers coming back to tell them of a "World so newly born" that they can go to because the "Earth is old and gray". The theory of relativity would explain the 100-year trip only aged the volunteers 1 year. Even in the line "For many a lonely day sailed across the milky seas", it sounds like he is about to say "sailed across the milky way" because of the day in the line.

I didn't know that May was an astronomer, but that even clinches it for me. An awesome song, nonetheless.

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MercuryCobain
06-15-2003

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This is one of those songs that can have more than one meaning (like they're rare)... it could be about space travel, or it could be about WWII. I can understand the WWII meaning better though, even though chances are it may be a "red herring."

For instance: For so many years have gone and I'm older but a year is apparently about the Doppler effect, but could be taken as someone saying that a loved one taken to the war has "aged" (matured) much quicker than they have.

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Sir_Larrikin
06-17-2003

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I've heard about the star travel meaning for years; never thought to look at it from the angle of the Volunteers being soldiers... very cool interp. Of course, the "milky seas" is very descriptive of the stars in the sky - heading deeper into the Galactic Center.

The lines about writing letters in the sand, to mean man's impermanence, always gave me chills.

"Your mother's eyes in your eyes cry to me," could mean that's confronting his descendants, or else he's returned to find his wife dead, and he's talking to his daughter.

I also always loved the line, "Don't you hear my call though you're many years away." As if the space between them is a span of years, not miles. The location is the technical same, but time has pulled his wife away.

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boffy_b
06-18-2003

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To me, "volunteers" immediately meant soldiers of some kind. '39 seemed to mean 1939 ie: WW2, but there are so many lyrics that confuse me. "In the days when lands were few", and other lines seem to suggest that these events took place hundreds or even thousands of years ago. whatever it means, it is a wonderful song which would be the kind of thing you would sing on your way to battle, in amongts the likes of "its a long way to tipperary". Or like a folk song, passing down stories the old fashioned way. Anyhow I love it.

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boffy_b
07-05-2003

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quote from Brian May:
It’s a science fiction story. It’s the story about someone who goes away and leaves his family and because of the time dilation effect, when you go away, the people on earth have aged a lot more than he has when he comes home. He’s aged a year and they’ve aged 100 years so, instead of coming back to his wife, he comes back to his daughter and he can see his wife in his daughter, a strange story. I think, also, I had in mind a story of Herman Hesse which I think is called ‘The River’. A man leaves his hometown and has lots of travels and then comes back and observes his hometown from the other side of the river. He sees it in a different light having been away and experienced all those different things. He sees it in a very illuminating way, cause I felt a little bit like that about My home at the time as well having been away and seen this vastly different world of Rock music. Totally different from the way I was brought up and I had those feelings about Home.

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InTheLapOfTheGods
04-11-2004

Rated 0 
39 means the number of the song that Queen have in they CD

if you count the songs from Queen 1 to 39 at the night at the opera
you can count 39 songs!

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mercury_girl86
05-23-2004

Rated 0 
this is a v good song :) I love the harmonies in the chorus

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Alieno
11-30-2004

Rated 0 
Of course that '39 could mean "1939", but it could also mean "2039", "2139" or... well, you get the point, don't you? ;)

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tobeforgotten
12-30-2004

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I really believe that this song is about going to war, coming back years later, and being exposed to what he has missed. The world has changed, and it's not the same place he'd left.

The "volunteers" are the soldiers.

I've never thought about the Space Travel interpretation..that's pretty interesting actually. And it's kind of convincing, with the "earth is old and grey" line.

All in all, beautiful song.

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alucinox
02-17-2005

Rated 0 
Yes I agree with Alieno, you don't know what '39 it is.

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TheYipskee
02-20-2005

Rated 0 
Yeah, I agree with Alieno too...but I don't think it's just one '39, I think that it must be two '39s. "In the year of '39 assembled here the Volunteers" This is the year when they left, possibly in 2039, probably not 1939 considering they didn't have rockets then. "In the year of '39 came a ship in from the blue" Then this is the '39 when they came back, but you don't know how long they were gone for, so they could've been gone for 100 years, then it would be 2139, or maybe 500, or maybe even 1000 so it would be 3039!

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FreddieIsMyIdol
03-06-2005

Rated 0 
I love this song, the whole starship theory makes it so much cooler.

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ElKarmaScaramouche
03-22-2005

Rated 0 
i hate math. i love brians stories, theyre different!

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rowedawg
05-12-2005

Rated 0 
Pioneers left in a year of 39, out to discover a new world ("In the days when the lands were few" and "And they bring good news of a world so newly born"). They returned in another year of 39, but because of the theory of relativity, they haven't aged, but everyone else has ("Oh so many years have gone though I'm older but a year"). He now sees his love in her daughter's eyes ("But my love this cannot be...Your mother's eyes from your eyes cry to me")

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scimitar_255
06-13-2005

Rated 0 
It's kind of funny.... a song about space travel set to country music.

Very Strange.

Great Song. Not neccesarely my favorite, but fairly good for country.

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scimitar_255
07-12-2005

Rated 0 
Ok, i take it back, I LOVE THIS SONG

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amerikanzero
07-14-2005

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Haha, it hits you the second time eh Scimitar? =) This song is really cool. It seems the whole space thing is a bit too much, but at the same time I somewhat agree that it might be about returning home to see everyone has aged or changed but you remain the same. The songs references to coming to the new world might most likely be referring to the pilgrims when they first left England for the new world (America). The settlers did afterall leave everything behind to start a new life, and most of them were volunteers. So it could easily be referring to that. Within that there is a love story too. Great song.

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ANightAtTheOpera
08-09-2005

Rated 0 
This song means a lot to me, when i first listened to it, i liked it for the music, didn't pay special attention to the lyrics. Number 39 has went on to become my favorite number, i use it everywhere and in everything i do.

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foreign_hand
08-15-2005

Rated 0 
I'm forever reminded of A Series of Unfortunate Events books when I here this for some strange reason. Maybe it's the 'Volunteers' or maybe its just the airs. Anyone else get that? Perhaps I should just go back to my book-filled hovel and keep my strange connections to myself.

I'm damn serious though. Lemony Snicket through-and-through.

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Quadroduck
12-15-2005

Rated 0 
It can be about war or about space travel but if Brian May explains what he wrote it about, I would listen to him above just fans. Also, The Queen Featuring Paul Rodgers concert, if you listen to the Return of the Champions CD, Paul Rodgers says it's about space travel as well. Scimitar said it's weird to have a space song in the style of a folk song but I can imagine it very well. James Taylor sings a folk song about "Sweet Dreams And Flying Machines" and it sounds very nice. Also, I can very well imagine space travelers (whether in 2039, 2139...) writing simple folk songs in their lonliness.

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krojack
01-07-2006

Rated 0 
Brian has said in interviews, and in concert, that the song is about a man going into a spaceship to find new worlds, and when he comes back he's only a year older, but the Earth is 100 years older.

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