For Remembrance Day, Lest We Forget
“Let me bid you farewell
Every man has to die….”
Mark Knopfler, Brothers In Arms, Dire Straits Album 1985.
*****
But let me hold you once more
My brother
My brother
In my empty arms
You were all I had left
And I find I still cannot let you go
But I know I must
Let sorrow run ahead
To greet the rising sun
And we will meet again
When my time here is done
Until then I will never forget
Never forget
All that we saw
As blood ran in the mud
And minds split in two
Love was scattered by bullets
And memories shattered
Like splintered bone
But I held on to you that day
I didn’t want you to ever be alone
Continued in a very humble way by Shelley Turner for Remembrance Day 2025.
This work is also for my friend Simon, who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Thinking of you.
*****
For this Remembrance Series I decided to post up another detail of my painting “The Wished For’ which although I had planned to do as requested by my lovely followers, this detail took on a meaning all of its own, and not just for the ‘Vanitas’ concept in the painting. This coming Remembrance Day and the continuing unrest and painful wars in our world had me thinking more deeply about the cost of war on humanity than usual.
At the same time as I was musing whether to post this detail of the painting up, and the iconic image of a human skull that represents all of us, I happened to come across the song “Brothers In Arms” in a playlist of mine. The two together just sparked such emotion, and more poetry on my part.
So this work is a continued piece and is based on Dire Straits wonderful and poignant song “Brothers In Arms” that was written in 1982, the year of Britain’s involvement in the Falklands War.
In 2007, Mark Knopfler recorded a new version of the song to raise funds for British veterans who he said “are still suffering from the effects of that conflict.”
And it seems that nothing has really changed either. The effects of current wars will continue for many generations to come and the mental scars are just as unforgiving as the physical ones.
I place this work up here in Remembrance to all of the Fallen in the wars of the past, the present time and possibly into the future, as man does not seem to really want to learn from the devastating effects of war or acknowledge the human failings that cause them in the first place.
But just as we think all is lost, life can arise from the scars of war. As Merlin places his hand on the skull in my painting, creatures have begun to find their homes in the bones, and from the old branches of the yew tree new growth has sprung to remain ever-green.
We build our lives on the past, but let us always remember what went before, and never forget.
And here is a link to Dire Straits beautiful song. It is one of those rare moments now where I will brave You Tube to place a song up here, because this song should be heard this day.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhdFe3evXpk
And if you would like to see more of my work, have a look at my website at:
For Remembrance Day, Lest We Forget
“Let me bid you farewell
Every man has to die….”
Mark Knopfler, Brothers In Arms, Dire Straits Album 1985.
*****
But let me hold you once more
My brother
My brother
In my empty arms
You were all I had left
And I find I still cannot let you go
But I know I must
Let sorrow run ahead
To greet the rising sun
And we will meet again
When my time here is done
Until then I will never forget
Never forget
All that we saw
As blood ran in the mud
And minds split in two
Love was scattered by bullets
And memories shattered
Like splintered bone
But I held on to you that day
I didn’t want you to ever be alone
Continued in a very humble way by Shelley Turner for Remembrance Day 2025.
This work is also for my friend Simon, who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Thinking of you.
*****
For this Remembrance Series I decided to post up another detail of my painting “The Wished For’ which although I had planned to do as requested by my lovely followers, this detail took on a meaning all of its own, and not just for the ‘Vanitas’ concept in the painting. This coming Remembrance Day and the continuing unrest and painful wars in our world had me thinking more deeply about the cost of war on humanity than usual.
At the same time as I was musing whether to post this detail of the painting up, and the iconic image of a human skull that represents all of us, I happened to come across the song “Brothers In Arms” in a playlist of mine. The two together just sparked such emotion, and more poetry on my part.
So this work is a continued piece and is based on Dire Straits wonderful and poignant song “Brothers In Arms” that was written in 1982, the year of Britain’s involvement in the Falklands War.
In 2007, Mark Knopfler recorded a new version of the song to raise funds for British veterans who he said “are still suffering from the effects of that conflict.”
And it seems that nothing has really changed either. The effects of current wars will continue for many generations to come and the mental scars are just as unforgiving as the physical ones.
I place this work up here in Remembrance to all of the Fallen in the wars of the past, the present time and possibly into the future, as man does not seem to really want to learn from the devastating effects of war or acknowledge the human failings that cause them in the first place.
But just as we think all is lost, life can arise from the scars of war. As Merlin places his hand on the skull in my painting, creatures have begun to find their homes in the bones, and from the old branches of the yew tree new growth has sprung to remain ever-green.
We build our lives on the past, but let us always remember what went before, and never forget.
And here is a link to Dire Straits beautiful song. It is one of those rare moments now where I will brave You Tube to place a song up here, because this song should be heard this day.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhdFe3evXpk
And if you would like to see more of my work, have a look at my website at: