Written on the Forehead

Album: Let England Shake (2011)
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Songfacts®:

  • This haunting symbolic ballad, which evokes the chaos of conquest, draws on images from the biblical Book of Revelations.
  • The songs Harvey wrote for Let England Shake were motivated by the ongoing conflicts in the world and the singer told NME this tune, "is very much about modern-day Iraq."
  • The electronic track samples Niney the Observer's reggae classic "Blood & Fire." Harvey told NME: "Something about the feel of what he was saying felt akin to what I was trying to reach for. So when I came to actually making the music, it was natural to me to see in some way if that would fit with it."

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