The Byrds 'I Come And Stand At Every Door' (Columbia, 1966)

This is such a stark and haunting song, standing out amongst the sweet melodicism that The Byrds are more renowned for. Bizarrely, 'Eight Miles High' is the next track on the album it comes from ('Fifth Dimension').

I first came into contact with the song via This Mortal Coil's cover on their third album ('Blood', 4AD, 1991). TMC rendered it as an elegant and quite ornate ballad. Lovely in its own way but not as affecting as the original.

The Byrds' simple presentation does nothing to obscure the song's meaning and message - the story of a child ghost of Hiroshima being sentenced to walk the earth.

The vocal is right upfront, supported by a unflashy martial snare crack and a plangent, circular guitar figure. The song lopes along with little in the way of shading or dynamic, all the more to directly communicate its anti-war message.



Watch This Mortal Coil 'I Come And Stand At Every Door' (Youtube)