The background of The Birch Wood is in World War II, it describes a miserable separation of lovers because of war. In the prelude, there is a distant female voice echo around, sounds like a woman try to tell all her grief. The organ played a depressing tune, matched up with the sorrowful voice. The prelude set up the keynote of the song. As a narration, the lyrics tell the audiences a story with a sorrowful melody. “Snow”, “quiet village”, “doves” and “gloomy sky” set up a depressed ambience for the story. Doves represent the peace, but they “fly across a gloomy sky” implies that the war is coming soon. Under the depressed atmosphere, two lovers carved their name on the birch wood, promised they would stay in love forever. The war broke out, the young guy left his lover with sadness, and promise to her “wait for me in the birch wood”. The third paragraph describes the depressing environment second times, but “the young hid themselves behind the birch wood” suggests that environment still stays the same, but the life of the people who went to the front to protect their homeland were drifted away. This implies the destined separation of the lovers. Bad news came, her lover died on the battlefield, but she still goes to the birch wood wait for him. Then the sorrowful and distant female voice appears again, different from the voice in the prelude, there is a male voice sing along with her, implies the tragic ending of the boy and girl. The depressing ambiance appeared the third time with crescendo, emphasizes the ruthless war made so many “graveless love and lives”, brought people calamity and miserable life. At the end of the song, the young girl becomes an old lady. She used whole life waiting for her lover. When she is dying, she muttered “I’m coming, wait for me in the birch wood”, which corresponds with what the boy said to her before “waiting for me in the birch wood”. Now they finally can see each other in the heaven. The birch wood testified their love. The lovers’ live is limited but their love is immortal. The birches represent the dead soldiers who defended the country. The song eulogizes the great spirit of brave soldiers. Throughout the miserable tune and lyrics, audiences can feel the sadness of the separation, implies the war brings tribulation to the innocent people.
Lyrics
Doves fly across a gloomy sky.
Two names are carved deep on a birch;
They promised to stay in love all their life.
One day war broke out in their homeland.
The lad picked up a gun to go to the front.
“Don’t worry for me, sweetheart.”
“Wait for me in the birch wood”
Doves are still flying across the same gloomy sky.
Who would prove those graveless love and lives?
Snow kept falling over the village, quiet as ever.
And the young hid themselves behind the birch wood.
The bad news came at the other afternoon.
Her love laid down his life on the battlefield.
Quietly she came to the birch wood,
Waiting there each day on tiptoe.
She said he’d just lost his way in the land far away.
Surely he would come to the birch wood someday.
Doves are still flying across the same gloomy sky
Who would prove those graveless love and lives?
Snow kept falling over the village, quiet as ever.
And the young hid themselves behind the birch wood.
The long road is coming to its close.
Snow-white hair flew over the once young face
She often heard his whisper over her pillow,
“Come, sweetheart, come to the birch wood”
Over her deathbed she murmured,
“I’m coming, wait for me in the birch wood”
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