Album:  

Writer

Mike Batt

Length:

4:02

Notes:

For a bloke best known for songs about Wombles, Mike certainly knew how to tug at the old heartstrings. "Bright Eyes", "Caravan Song" and "I Will Be There" to name but three examples of his something-in-my-eye songs. "Market Day In Guernica" is right up there with his best. The Spanish town of Guernica was the site of an early bombing raid by the Nazis on April 26, 1937. The day was deliberately chosen as market day to maximise casualties, and 1654 civilians were killed in an unthinkable act of callous brutality. Mike's beautiful song captures the event poignantly simply through the eyes of a single family that lost a loved one in the tragedy. It is devastatingly effective and if it doesn't make you rage against every violent human being that ever lived then you and I might struggle to get on. It saddens me that this gorgeous, important song got tucked away on "B-Sides" and hence remains unheard by the majority of the general public. This is one track that should never have been allowed to get away. I hope maybe one day Katie might re-record the song and put it on an acoustic album for all the world to hear though the chances of that are slim to none. But it is one of several reasons why every Ketefan should have "B-Sides" in their download collection.

YouTube:

No video or live performance of this that I can find so another one of those photo-slideshow type efforts. Better than nothing, and some nice shots in there. Market Day In Guernica.

Lyrics:

Market Day In Guernica