Chorus
Look very carefully, look hard
Through the fields over there
Among the long reeds
Between the sky and the mill
A man approaches
A man I don’t know
Look very carefully, look hard
And who could he be
A traveller who’s lost
A ghost from the war
Or a salesman perhaps
Is it a zealot who brings
His false news and hopes
To help us grow old
Is this my brother who comes
Ravaged by years
To tell me it’s time
Or is it only the wind
Which disturbs the dry sand
And forms a mirage
In the far distant haze
Chorus
It’s not a neighbour of ours
For his horse is too proud
To be from these parts
Or have returned from the war
It’s not a zealot or priest
For his horse is too poor
To be of this parish
It can’t be a rich man
For his horse is too light
As are his clothes
And no traveller’s been
Past the bridge on the stream
Since the day father died
No one knows who I am
Chorus
No, it is not my brother
His horse would have stopped to drink
No, it is not my brother
He would not have dared come here
There is nothing here for him
And he has nothing for us
No, it is not my brother
He turned away long ago
From his family and friends
He is not wanted here
My brother is dead
It seems it’s only the wind
Which disturbs the dry sand
In the far distant haze
Look very carefully, look hard
Through the fields over there
Among the long reeds
Between the sky and the mill
A man rides away
A man we don’t know
Look very carefully, look hard
And it is too late now
I see a man leaving
A man whom we’ll now never know
As we prepare for the war