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The Queen & The Soldier

from Tourist by Emma Ballantine

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about

A cover of the story song originally by Suzanne Vega

lyrics

The Queen & The Soldier

A soldier came knocking upon the queen's door
He said, "I am not fighting for you any more"
And the queen knew she'd seen his face someplace before
And slowly she let him inside.

He said, "I've watched your palace up here on the hill
And I've wondered who's the woman for whom we all kill
But I am leaving tomorrow and you can do what you will
Only first I am asking you why?”

Down the long narrow hall he was led
Into her rooms with her tapestries red
And she never once took the crown from her head
As she asked him there to sit down.

He said, "I see you now, and you are so very young
But I've seen more battles lost than I have battles won
And I've got this intuition, says it's all for your fun
And now will you tell me why?"

The young queen, she fixed him with an arrogant eye
She said, "You won't understand, and you may as well not try"
But her face was a child's, and he thought she would cry
But she closed herself up like a fan.

She said, "I've swallowed a secret burning thread
It cuts me inside, and often I've bled"
And he laid his hand then on top of her head
And he bowed her down to the ground.

"Tell me how hungry are you? How weak you must feel
As you are living here alone, and you are never revealed
But I won't march again on your battlefield"
And he took her to the window to see.

And the sun, it was gold, though the sky, it was grey
And she wanted more than she ever could say
But she knew how it frightened her, and she turned away
And would not look at his face again.

He said, "I want to live as an honest man
To get all I deserve and to give all I can
And to love a young woman whom I don't understand
Your Highness, your ways are very strange."

But the crown, it had fallen, and she thought she would break
And she stood there, ashamed of the way her heart ached
And she took him to the doorstep and she asked him to wait
She would only be a moment inside.

And out in the distance her order was heard
And the soldier was killed, still waiting for her word
And while the queen went on strangling in the solitude she preferred
The battle raged on

credits

from Tourist, released July 24, 2015
Music and lyrics by Suzanne Vega
Performed by Emma Ballantine

Produced by: Peter Waterman
Mixed by: Warren Bassett
Mastered by: Warren Bassett, Mike Hillier
Recorded at: Monnow Valley, Liscombe Park
Recorded by: Liam Ross, Curtis ElVidge, Matthias Stefansson, Ryan McMasters

Vocals: Emma Ballantine
Cello: Asha McCarthy
Violin: Dan Cassidy
Trumpet: Erin Yanacek

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Emma Ballantine UK

With a  no. 1 album and recognition from Q Magazine and Glamour, Emma Ballantine weaves together folk and contemporary influences to create her distinctive, storytelling style.

A finalist in the UK Unsigned Songwriter of the Year competition, her music has been played by BBC Radio 2, BBC 6 Music and BBC Introducing, and she has been described as 'a unique voice among modern songwriters'. ... more

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