Sniper

Album: Thunderbolt (2018)
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Songfacts®:

  • Saxon frontman/lyricist Biff Byford often writes about battles and those who fight them, often in fantasy worlds. This one is much more down-to-Earth, taking a look at the life of a sniper, and what goes through is mind.

    "I think sniper has got to be one of the loneliest jobs in the world," he said in a Songfacts interview. "There have been snipers and sharpshooters, as they used to be called, since way back. Even medieval knights, the crossbow men, were snipers. They used to hide and pick off the generals or the most important guys on the battlefield.

    So it's a good subject. It's not particularly one type of sniper, just snipers in general. These guys get sent off to kill people and do they ever ask why? Do they ever ask, "Why are we shooting this guy or why have we picked out that guy?" I think it's just a strange job to do, really, to be asked to do that. Some soldiers do it and follow their orders and kill people."

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