Days in Europa

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Days in Europa

Studio album by The Skids
Released	1979
Recorded	Rockfield Studios, Wales except: Basing Street: Masquerade The Manor: Yankee Dollar
Genre	Punk rock
Label	Virgin
Producer(s)	Bill Nelson
N/A
The Skids chronology
Scared to Dance (1979)	Days in Europa (1979)	The Absolute Game (1980)

Days in Europa was The Skids's controversial 1979 second album. Initially released with an "aryan" album cover reminiscent of the 1936 Olympics, complete with Germanic gothic-style lettering, this was quickly withdrawn and a new cover designed. At the same time the opportunity was taken to change the album tracklisting (the original war theme being rather obvious from the track titles) and re-record some of the original tracks. Some of the deleted tracks would re-surface on later albums.

Unlike some of the punk albums of the period, the songs tend towards a slower tempo, not unlike grunge many years later. The songs often refer to events in World War I and World War II.

The tracks that found their way onto the second version of the album were given a glossier remix by Bruce Fairbairn, allegedly for the US market.

1 Track listing
- 1.1 First version
- 1.2 Second version
2 Song information
3 External links

[edit] Track listing

[edit] First version

Animation
Charade
'Dulce Et Decorum Est (Pro Patria Mori)'
Pros And Cons
Home Of The Saved
Working For The Yankee Dollar
The Olympian
Thanatos
A Day In Europa
Peaceful Times

Cover of the second version of Days in Europa.

[edit] Second version

Animation
Charade
'Dulce Et Decorum Est (Pro Patria Mori)'
The Olympian
Home Of The Saved
Working For The Yankee Dollar
Thanatos
Masquerade
A Day In Europa
Peaceful Times

This second cover includes the controversial first cover as a picture on the wall behind the woman in white's head. On the back of the cover the illustration is repeated, only with the withdrawn release's picture on the wall being replaced with that of the earlier Scared to Dance album. The Pros and the Cons is removed, and Masquerade, one of their singles was included.

[edit] Song information

A rough translation of "Dulce et Decorum Est (Pro Patria Mori)" is:

It is a sweet and glorious thing (to die for one's country).

Dulce et Decorum Est is also the name of poem by Wilfred Owen, from whom it is believed the song took inspiration.

Thanatos is the Greek word for "death", and is used in Freudian psychology to refer to the death wish/destructive urge, as opposed to Eros the reproductive urge. It is also the name of the ancient Greek god of death.