Bando de Camaradas

Saqueando o cadáver do jogo Brothers in Arms, encontrei pouca coisa interessante. Havia alguns vídeos em formato .BIK no diretório Media, mas nada que valesse a pena guardar para a posteridade.

E havia algumas músicas em .ogg na pasta Music. A maioria das chamadas “músicas” eram efeitos muito curtos, vinhetas de som usadas ao longo do jogo. De 148 arquivos, apenas uns 20 podiam ser consideradas faixas completas. E, mesmo estas, estavam longe de grandiosidade de outras trilhas sonoras de jogos de guerra, como Call of Duty ou Medal of Honor. Até o obscuro Mortyr II tinha uma trilha mais marcante.

Mas não vou voltar a jogar pedras em Brothers in Arms. Porque, no meio de tanto material genérico, encontrei uma música de grande valor histórico.

O nome da música é "Blood on the Risers". Não sei em que parte do jogo ela toca, se ela é um bônus destravável ou qual é o nome do arquivo (eu renomeei!). Procure pelo único arquivo com 3.722 KB da pasta Music, no diretório do jogo.

Para quem não entende o idioma inglês, a faixa pode parecer apenas uma paródia de "Glória, Glória, Aleluia", tão popular entre pessoas religiosas. A música, na verdade, narra com certa dose de humor negro a triste sina de um para-quedista cujo salto deu errado. Muito errado. E, por mais mórbido que possa parecer, “Blood on the Risers” é uma espécie de hino da sorte de três divisões aerotransportadas do exército americano, incluindo a 101ª, retratada no jogo.

Ao escutar a letra e ouvir a canção, não consigo deixar de imaginar aqueles bravos soldados apertados em seus aviões, sob o fogo da artilharia anti-aérea, prestes a saltar no escuro em território hostil. E, mesmo em condições tão adversas, ainda ter a presença de espírito de zombar da morte e cantar algo ao mesmo tempo tão sombrio e tão sarcástico:

He was just a rookie trooper and he surely shook with fright,
as he checked off his equipment and made sure his pack was tight;
He had to sit and listen to those awful engines roar,
"You ain't gonna jump no more!"

Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,
He ain't gonna jump no more!

"Is everybody happy?" cried the Sergeant looking up,
Our Hero feebly answered "Yes," and then they stood him up;
He jumped into the icy blast, his static line unhooked,
And he ain't gonna jump no more.

Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,
He ain't gonna jump no more!

He counted long, he counted loud, he waited for the shock,
He felt the wind, he felt the cold, he felt the awful drop,
The silk from his reserve spilled out and wrapped around his legs,
And he ain't gonna jump no more.

Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,
He ain't gonna jump no more!

The risers wrapped around his neck, connectors cracked his dome,
Suspension lines were tied in knots around his skinny bones;
The canopy became his shroud; he hurtled to the ground.
And he ain't gonna jump no more.

Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,
He ain't gonna jump no more!

The days he'd lived and loved and laughed kept running through his mind,
He thought about the girl back home, the one he'd left behind;
He thought about the medics and wondered what they'd find,
And he ain't gonna jump no more.

Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,
He ain't gonna jump no more!

The ambulance was on the spot, the jeeps were running wild,
The medics jumped and screamed with glee, rolled up their sleeves and smiled,
For it had been a week or more since last a 'chute had failed,
And he ain't gonna jump no more.

Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,
He ain't gonna jump no more!

He hit the ground, the sound was "Splat!," his blood went spurting high,
His comrades then were heard to say: "A hell of a way to die!"
He lay there rolling round in the welter of his gore,
And he ain't gonna jump no more.

Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,
He ain't gonna jump no more!

There was blood upon the risers, there were brains upon the chute,
Intestines were a'dangling from his Paratrooper suit,
He was a mess, they picked him up, and poured him from his boots,
And he ain't gonna jump no more

Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,
He ain't gonna jump no more!

They placed him in a blanket, then they laid his soul to rest
They notified his next of kin; his funeral was the best
And on his monument of stone they scribed this little verse:
He ain't gonna jump no more

Gory, Gory, what a helluva way to die
Gory, Gory, what a helluva way to die
Gory, Gory, what a helluva way to die
He ain't, gonna jump, no more...

Para um jogo que buscou sem sucesso reproduzir a realidade da guerra, a inclusão de “Blood on the Risers” na trilha de Brothers in Arms é um tiro muito bem dado e um resgate inestimável.

Ouvindo: Delinquent Habits - Station Thirteen