There are so many things rolled into Taro – mournful Dispensary Girl-esque post-rock strings and bells plus vocal tone, Indian pop straddling the bridge and a history lesson.
Gerda Taro was a war photojournalist in the 1930s. She died in her line of work during the Battle of Brunete in 1937 when a...
[Verse 1]
Indochina: Capa jumps Jeep
Two feet creep up the road
To photo, to record, meat lumps and war
They advance as does his chance
(Ooh) Very yellow-white flash
A violent wrench grips mass
Rips light, tears limbs like rags
Burst so high, finally Capa lands
Mine is a watery pit
Painless with immense distance
From medic, from colleague, friend, enemy, foe
Him five yards from his leg
[Chorus]
From you, Taro
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh-oh-oh, oh
Do not spray into eyes
I have sprayed you into my eyes
[Verse 2]
3:10 pm: Capa pends death
Quivers, last rattles, last chokes
All colours and cares glaze to grey
Shriveled and stricken to dots
The left hand grasps what the body grasps not
Oh, oh-oh-oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
Le photographe est mort
3.1415, alive, no longer my amour
Fated for home, May of '54
Doors open like arms, my love
Painless with a great closeness
To Capa, to Capa Capa dark after nothing
Reunited with his leg
[Chorus]
And with you, Taro
Oh, oh-oh-oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh-oh-oh
Taro, oh-oh-oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
Oh-oh-oh, oh-oh, oh, oh-oh-oh
Do not spray into eyes
I have sprayed you into my eyes
[Outro]
Hey, Taro!
Taro was written by Thom Sonny Green & Joe Newman & Gwilym Sainsbury & Gus Unger-Hamilton.
Taro was produced by Charlie Andrew.
Joe Newman talks about “Taro”: