Somewhere in the desert sands of Shivta
your name is etched on the map
directly under the white blimp
B battery thunderclap
eighteen twelve overture is nothing next to this
roll over Tchaikovsky’s muse
grief and many guns reach for the sky
soldier sings the blues
when the shooting’s over and the smoke clears
I’ll be out of the field on the bounce
war what’s it good for absolutely nothing
it’s the place in your heart that counts
Thunder Riders Catapults and Spears
to the rescue I’m on my way
so when you hear that boom you know I’m thinking of you
love is just a cannon shot away
When I’m out in tiza nabi and you’re in the holy city
so far away feeling blue
I wrap up my love in a don quixote shell
and send it charge nine to you
when you’re sitting by your window looking down at the highway
just aching for the love you miss
I’ll pull up to your doorstep in my M-109
and give you a 155mm kiss
David the computer has got your number
you’re right on target for me
three two hundred line zero in the sight
as good as your love can be
black and red are the colors in my head
raise the flag I’m on my way
so when you hear that boom you know I’m thinking of you
love is just a cannon shot away
I’m the sergeant in command of passion’s tender hands
the cannon always rings twice they say
so when you hear that boom you know I’m thinking of you
Love Is Just A Cannon Shot Away
©2023 The Hesh Inc.
This was a love letter to my girlfriend when I was doing my army service, once I had been assigned to a combat regiment in late 1985. She was in Jerusalem and I was on maneuvers in the Negev desert sands near Shivta, the IDF's field artillery school (a scenario that would repeat itself two more times during my service). My job at the time was mapping out the locations and directions of my unit's firing position using a directional computer and a good old-fashioned paper map; some of the positions on the map were code named with girls' names, and at one point my unit stopped on the point that had been given my girlfriend's name. That was the impetus for these lyrics. I wrote these lyrics during breaks in the action and finished the song in time for the next weekend I had off base, and I showed the song to her the next time I saw her ... and I had to decipher most of it for her because of the heavy use of jargon, some of which was translated literally from Hebrew. But she appreciated it all the same.
Musically, the song has a fast, even furious rhythm and the chord progression is a cross between rock and Mizrahi music, which may be commonplace today but at the time was rarely done. I banged it out on the piano numerous times but never before an audience or on record.