LANGZOGHT - Scheldt Pocket

Hi, my name is Robin (LANGZOGHT) and I’m the writer of ‘The Scheldt Pocket’. For the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Knokke-Heist in Belgium, I was asked by the For Freedom Museum (https://www.forfreedommuseum.be/) to write a song about the operation that took place in our region. I got a wonderful tour in the museum, studied some documentation, took my guitar and started writing. Towards the evening I had recorded a first demo of the song. ‘The Scheldt Pocket’ reflects on the experiences of a soldier during the Battle of the Scheldt (also known
as Operation Switchback ) in 1944, during World War II. It describes the harsh realities of combat, the emotional toll of war, the camaraderie between soldiers and the heavy sacrifices made in the name of someone else’s liberty.
I hope it makes you think about the futility of war and that there are no true
winners, only loss and regret.

All the writing, playing, singing, recording, mixing and mastering was done by me (at home), except
for the drums, which were played by Wout Robert.

Every lap around the sun, it’s as if it’s just begun
Seems like every year I live is full of war
Well we said, it was gonna be the last but we were wrong
There are battles everywhere it’s quite bizarre

Long ago, we were shipped, to a cold wet barren land
From Canada many young men on a boat
Nothing could prepare us for what we were ‘bout to see
On that cold wet barren switchback road

And although I did things I regret
It’s a story that I wont forget

Because we were the water rats, chased the Jerry’s to their hole
Landed on the sand, now the mud sticks to our soles
More than half a million men, to bring you liberty again
But there’s a price we had to pay, for the Scheldt pocket

Through the water in we came to fend the enemy away
And the people came to greet us on the way
I saw in their eyes, they had lost as many friends as I
Praying that this cold hell will soon end

Oh and we were the water rats, chased the Jerry’s to their hole
Landed on the sand, now the mud sticks to our soles
More than half a million men, to bring you liberty again
But there’s a price we had to pay, for the Scheldt pocket

There are no winners in a war
So think about what you’re willing to fight for
There’s only losers in a war
So think about what you’re willing to die for
There are no winners in a war
So think about what you’re willing to fight for
There’s only losers in a war
So think about what you’re willing to die for

Oh we were the water rats, chased the Jerry’s to their hole
Landed on the sand, now the mud sticks to our soles
More than half a million men, to bring you liberty again
But there’s a price we had to pay

Oh and we were the water rats, chased the Jerry’s to their hole
Landed on the sand, now the blood sticks to our soles
More than half a million men, to bring you liberty again
But there’s a price we had to pay
For the Scheldt pocket