Behind The Tracks: Gather The Lost - War At Dawn (Single) (2026)

Carolyn Dunne: ‘War at Dawn’ originally was written (lyrics and melody) in early 2024 out of pure rage and protest over being mistreated yet again, simply because I am a woman /in the music industry. Soon, though, it took on a bigger meaning. Now it means the moment you find the strength to advocate for yourself, to fight any and all demons you face, whether they are ones externally or internally. It’s this peaceful yet ferocious realisation of self-worth, and that you will fight tooth and nail to protect yourself, come hell or high water. It is the beginning of something bigger, whether that is the decision to overcome mental health issues or stand your ground against something in your life that has always held negative power over you. It’s the moment you realise you ARE strong, and ‘they’ will soon realise they should never have underestimated you.

 

I didn’t bring it into band practice until maybe early 2025, where I sang it for the lads, told them what I envisioned for the structure and vibe of the song. At one point, I quite literally made them close their eyes and imagine standing at the waterfront on a beach, in the dark hours before dawn. They feel the wind, the rain, yet the peacefulness of this ‘calm before the storm’ and so on. Fair play to them, my methods are a bit unusual, but I think they are used to my quirkiness now. They humoured me, and it worked.

 

Together, they created the atmospheric, powerful song that perfectly captures the intensity of rebellion I felt when first writing it. Alan was straight in with that stunning guitar line you hear that opens the song and carries through the verses. We get a powerful drum by Ronan, supporting the vocals and demanding listeners to pay attention to that pre-chorus and then boom, everything kicks off for the chorus. Brian is straight in, giving grit and power on the bass, Alan and Ronan creating chaos with the guitar and drums, and they all tie in perfectly with the vocals. The song gets bigger from there, including a call-and-response section that is a lot of fun to perform live. The ’war’ in question has nothing to do with the state the world is in right now, which I feel people might wonder or assume it’s about. It is about the wars we face in our own lives. Perhaps if we all dealt with those ‘wars’ first, the world wouldn’t currently be in such a dire mess. But that’s a different song, for another day.