03. The Artilleryman And The Fighting Machine

Instrumental (0:00 - 0:30)

[Narrator: Richard Burton ("The Journalist")]

The hammering from the pit and the pounding of guns grew louder. My fear rose at the sound of someone creeping into the house. Then I saw it was a young artilleryman, weary, streaked with blood and dirt...

[Artilleryman: David Essex]

Anyone here?

[Narrator: Richard Burton ("The Journalist")]

Come in. Here, drink this

[Artilleryman: David Essex]

Thank you!

[Narrator: Richard Burton ("The Journalist")]

What's happened?

[Artilleryman: David Essex]

They wiped us out. Hundreds dead, maybe thousands

[Narrator: Richard Burton ("The Journalist")]

The Heat Ray?

[Artilleryman: David Essex]

The Martians! They were inside the hoods of machines they'd made. Massive metal things on legs! Giant machines that walked. They attacked us! They wiped us out!

[Narrator: Richard Burton ("The Journalist")]

Machines?

[Artilleryman: David Essex]

Fighting machines! Picking up men and bashing 'em against trees. Just hunks of metal, but they knew exactly what they were doing

[Narrator: Richard Burton ("The Journalist")]

Mmm. There was another cylinder came last night

[Artilleryman: David Essex]

Yes. It looked bound for London

[Narrator: Richard Burton ("The Journalist")]

London! Carrie! I hadn't dreamed there could be danger to Carrie and her father, so many miles away. I must go to London at once!

[Artilleryman: David Essex]

And me. Got to report to headquarters, if there's anything left of it

Instrumental (1:37 - 2:27)

[Narrator: Richard Burton ("The Journalist")]

At Byfleet we came upon an inn, but it was deserted

[Artilleryman: David Essex]

Is everybody dead?

[Narrator: Richard Burton ("The Journalist")]

Not everybody. Look! Six cannons with gunners standing by

[Artilleryman: David Essex]

Bows and arrows against the lightning. They haven't seen the heat ray yet!

Instrumental (2:45 - 3:14)

[Narrator: Richard Burton ("The Journalist")]

We hurried along the road to Weybridge. Suddenly, there was a heavy explosion. The ground heaved, windows shattered and gusts of smoke erupted in the air

[Artilleryman: David Essex]

Look! There they are! What did I tell you?

[Narrator: Richard Burton ("The Journalist")]

Quickly, one after the other, four of the fighting machines appeared. Monstrous tripods, higher than the tallest steeple, striding over pine trees and smashing them. Walking engines of glistening metal. Each carried a huge funnel and I realized with horror that I'd seen this awful thing before...

A fifth machine appeared on the far bank. It raised itself to full height, flourished the funnel high in the air - and the ghostly, terrible Heat Ray struck the town. As it struck, all five fighting machines exulted, emitting deafening howls which roared like thunder

[Martians]

Ulla! Ulla!

Instrumental (5:27 - 7:54)

[Narrator: Richard Burton ("The Journalist")]

The six guns we had seen now fired simultaneously, decapitating a fighting machine. The Martian inside the hood was slain, splashed to the four winds, and the body, nothing now but an intricate device of metal, went whirling to destruction. As the other monsters advanced, people ran away blindly, the artilleryman among them, but I jumped into the water and hid until forced up to breathe. Now the guns spoke again, but this time the heat ray sent them to oblivion

Instrumental & Martians (8:28 - 9:08)

Ulla!

[Narrator: Richard Burton ("The Journalist")]

With a white flash, the Heat Ray swept across the river. Scalded, half-blinded and agonized, I staggered through leaping, hissing water towards the shore, I fell helplessly, in full view of the Martians, expecting nothing but death. The foot of a Martian came down close to my head, then lifted again, as the four Martians carried away the debris of their fallen comrade..…. and I realized that by a miracle I had escaped!

Instrumental & Martians (9:33 - 10:36)

Ulla! Ulla! Ulla!

• Artist:Jeff Wayne
• Album:Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds (1978)