We last featured Foxy Leopard for reflecting on history, human nature and quiet resilience with the thought-provoking single, We Keep Walking, so when we heard that the conceptual project was back with Children of the War, we couldn’t wait to immerse ourselves in the visionary artist’s universe once more.
Children of the War opens with an American acoustic guitar soundscape and the lyrics, “I saw young kids playing by an elder tree, too young to see the broken dreams…”. The track expands with sublime choral hums, ethereal and angelic in nature with ad-libs and a gruff vocal performance as an all too familiar narrative unfolds.
What Foxy Leopard does really well is create songs with a story that remind us of some of the most amazing historical context songs ever written such as Hurricane by Bob Dylan and Another Day In Paradise by Phil Collins. This time around, the story feels very apt for life today. The use of children’s vocals really adds to the emotional depth of the piece, and the raw emotion that the lead vocals manifest with feels deeply human.
In essence, Children of the War explores the people left behind when conflict ends. It depicts the consequences that continue across generations. The central idea that “we’re all the children of a war” extends beyond literal children, instead referring to anyone whose life has been shaped by conflict that is out of their control.
We appreciate how Foxy Leopard gives the children’s voices some of the simplest observations in the song: “Different men, different roads, different minds, different goals.” There is something particularly poignant about this contrast, because the adults bring all the complexity of war and its consequences, whilst the children reduce everything to a much simpler understanding of humanity.
We could genuinely imagine Children of the War securing a literal sync placement in a historical drama such as The English or The Underground Railroad, particularly during a closing sequence reflecting on the consequences of violence. It could also work beautifully within The Last of Us, where its themes of survival, loss and inherited trauma could complement a pivotal character-driven scene.
For some context, Children of the War is the flagship song from Foxy Leopard‘s upcoming album After, which begins where many Civil War stories end: after the armies have gone home and ordinary people are left to deal with the consequences. The story of Jesse James’ wife, Zerelda “Zee” Mimms James, became an emotional reference for the woman in the song, representing the countless women left to carry their families forward after violence.
Needless to say, Children of the War is another thought-provoking and zeitgeist addition to the Foxy Leopard catalogue, transforming a story rooted in the American Civil War into a wider reflection on the consequences of conflict and the generations who inherit them. We have added Children of the War to our New Music Spotlight playlist and our TIMELESS playlist, whilst we continue to follow the journey towards After.