Liberty Belle is ringing out across the sea
And everyone sings along though she's singing way out of key
From the shores of Galilee
To the runways of Anglesey
You know we're digging to hell
Right past your own well
As the magpies fly from Tallahassee to the sky
Memory Lane forgot her way after all this time
And she never learnt from her mistakes and all the crime
That caused the gulf of misery
That's separating you from me
You know we're digging to hell
Drowning in our oil wells
As the seagulls fly from Abu Dhabi to the sky
The birds still sing their melodies
Their songs of love and food and trees, oh my how they fly
So little do they know yet their days are numbered so
Alarms are ringing in the trees
You know you've been to hell
Drowning in your oil wells
As the ashes fly from New York City
Past the grimy clouds above New Jersey
Past the kids who like to smoke like chimneys to the sky
Quote (1) (Gruff):
"The American people deserve better than what they've got. The band love America. The diversity of the place is incredible. We always get a huge welcome. But the song's not specifically about the US. It's saying that responsibility lies with everyone in the world. There's no point blaming Americans for everything. People are the same everywhere. It's saying we have to learn from our mistakes."
Quote (2) (Gruff):
"For this I devised cartoon characters called Liberty Belle and Memory Lane, and Liberty Belle I suppose represents the bells of freedom and Memory Lane represents history's harsh lessons that Liberty Belle always forgets. Liberty Belle represents the American Dream, which is all conquering and has no fear. She's young, innocent and carefree, skipping along. Memory Lane is the flipside, the one that's learnt from history's harsh realities. It's sung from the perspective of a bird living almost in a parallel universe to humans, oblivious to the gravity of the games which are being played around us. I think that's how I feel a lot of the time, and a lot of other people do too."
Where:
Monnow Valley Studios/Rockfield Studios
When:
2003
Source:
Track 2 (Phantom Power): 2 minutes, 58 seconds
Status:
Complete!
Video sequence director:
Pete Fowler/Neil McFarland
DVD director:
Darren Watkins
Remixed by:
Mario Caldato Jr - Track 3 (Phantom Phorce): 2 minutes, 58 seconds
