Eve Of The War
Read Eve Of The War lyrics by Jeff Wayne on LyroVerse, with linked artist context and related song paths.
The page facts to cite before the commentary
Use this page for the lyric text, linked artist context, and any LyroVerse editor's note attached to the song. Listener comments remain user-generated and should not be treated as the primary source.
Eve Of The War
The lyric stays readable and compact here; the note and related paths sit nearby so you do not lose the song while looking for context.
No one would have believed
In the last years of the nineteenth century
That human affairs were being
Watched from the timeless worlds of space
No one could have dreamed that we were being scrutinized
As someone with a microscope studies creatures
That swarm and multiply in a drop of water
Few men even considered the possibility
Of life on other planets and yet, across the gulf of space
Minds immeasurably superior to ours regarded this Earth
With envious eyes, and slowly and surely
They drew their plans against us
At midnight on the twelfth of August
A huge mass of luminous gas
Erupted from Mars and sped towards Earth
Across two hundred million miles of void
Invisibly hurtling towards us were the first of the missiles
That were to bring so much calamity to Earth
As I watched, there was another jet of gas
It was another missile starting on it's way
And that's how it was for the next ten nights
A flare, spurting out from Mars
Bright green, drawing a green mist behind it
A beautiful, but somehow disturbing sight
Ogilvy the astronomer, assured me we were in no danger
He was convinced that there could be no living thing
On that remote forbidding planet
The chances of anything coming from mars are a million to one he said
The chances of anything coming from mars are a million to one
But still they come!
Then came the night the first missile approached Earth
It was thought to be an ordinary falling star
But next day there was huge crater in the middle of the Common
And Ogilvy came to examine what lay there
A cylinder, thirty yards across, glowing hot
And with faint sounds of movement coming from within
Suddenly the top began moving, rotating, unscrewing
And Ogilvy feared there was a man inside, trying to escape
He rushed to the cylinder
But the intense heat stopped him
Before he could burn himself on the metal
The chances of anything coming from mars are a million to one
But still they come!
The chances of anything coming from mars are a million to one he said
The chances of anything coming from mars are a million to one
But still they come!
Yes, the chances of anything coming from mars are a million to one
But still they come!
It seems totally incredible to me now
That everyone spent that evening
As though it were just like any other
From the railway station came the sound of shunting trains
Ringing and rumbling
Softened almost into melody by the distance
It all seemed to safe and tranquil
What this page can answer fast
Who performs "Eve Of The War"?
Jeff Wayne performs "Eve Of The War", and this lyric page sits inside the Jeff Wayne catalog on LyroVerse.
Are there related songs to explore after "Eve Of The War"?
Yes. The related section below points to Horsell Common And The Heat Ray and Artilleryman And The Fighting Machine with a short reason for opening each page next.
Where can I find more songs by Jeff Wayne?
Use the artist link near the top of the page or the related paths section below to keep moving through Jeff Wayne's lyric pages.
Interpretations, questions, and corrections for this song
Interpretations, questions, memories, and correction notes live together here. The room stays noindex while the best insights are reviewed.
What people are saying
No listener comments on Eve Of The War yet.
A strong comment here is specific: the phrase you keep hearing, the mood you come back for, or the reason this song stays in rotation.
Sign in to post the first listener note. Reporting stays open to everyone.