1916 by Motörhead

Album: 1916 (1991)

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Motorhead frontman Lemmy Kilmister wrote this song after watching a UK television program about the 1916 Battle of the Somme on which a veteran reminisced about his friend dying in his arms with half his face blown off.

"It came to me in a flash," he said. "The old guy is 88 all something, and he's still in tears about it. He walked through 25 feet of muddy s--t into the teeth of machine gun fire, all for nothing: 19,000 Englishmen killed before. Think! All those lives. And some bastard on a white horse probably got a medal for it too. You can imagine the bastards can't you? Back at the club."
The song was arranged as a slow ballad featuring marching drums and a cello. "I adore the cello, always have," said Lemmy. The one who introduced it to me really was Paul McCartney - so effective on Yesterday and Eleanor Rigby." (Source of quotes Mojo magazine March 2016)
The Swedish power metal band Sabaton covered "1916" for their 2023 EP Stories From The Western Front. Most of their records are written about historical events, mainly wars and significant battles, and the EP tells stories of those who fought and fell on the Western Front, one of World War I's main theaters of conflict.

"We believed that '1916' was the perfect fit for this EP, not only because it's related to the First World War, but because we just love everything about the song," said Sabaton singer Joakim Brodén. "Lemmy was inspired to write this track after watching a documentary about the Battle Of The Somme. The lyrics are emotionally charged and perfectly describe the experiences of all the young soldiers, most of whom were just kids, essentially. A lyric that really moves me and hits home is: 'We were food for the gun, and that's what you are when you're soldiers'. I can't get that out of my head."
Sabaton filmed their video for "1916" in Birmingham, England and at the famous Black Country Living Museum. The visual features a cameo by Motorhead band members Mikkey Dee and Phil Campbell.

Comments: 4

Ken from Philadelphia, PaThe Battle of the Somme was even worse than the quotes from Lemmy above would imply. 19,000 men did die.... but that was in the first minutes of the battle. The battle then continued for 6 months! Worst of all, the Brits had come up with an interesting recruiting tool prior to this battle. If a group of friends enlisted together, they were permitted to serve together. So groups of men from the same town or same neighborhood signed up and served in the same unit.... and, in those first few minutes on the Somme, all of the adult males in entire villages and towns all over England were wiped out.
Brian from Farleton, United KingdomIt was written to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the battle of the Somme. When over 11000 allied soldiers died "The day not yet over and ten thousand slain"
Todd from Toronto, Canadadefinately well written it fits along with i aint no nice guy
Nils from Oslo, NorwayGreat song, simply a great song.
Very non-MotÃ¶rhead in fact

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