Hear PJ Harvey on War Horrors in Raw New Song ‘I’ll Be Waiting’
PJ Harvey conjures the horrors of war on “I’ll Be Waiting,” one half of her new double-A-side single. Over a raw acoustic guitar, she channels the perspective of a child whose hometown is obliterated in battle. “They swept across the land/ They did not leave a thing/ They did not leave a person, stone or a tree,” she sings. “They did not leave anything/ All that’s left is sand.”
Each verse grows more harrowing, as the protagonist remembers their dead father, becomes consumed by hate and – in a commentary on the poisonous, cyclical nature of war – vows revenge: “And when they return, I will be waiting/ I will not leave a person standing.”
Harvey’s other new single is the more atmospheric “A Dog Called Money.” Both tracks follow her Grammy-nominated ninth LP, 2016’s The Hope Six Demolition Project, inspired by the songwriter’s travels through Afghanistan, Kosovo and Washington D.C.Harvey recently kicked off
Harvey recently kicked off biggest North American tour in a decade. Last week, the singer performed Hope Six single “The Community of Hope” on The Late Show.