Songs of War & Protest
I wanted to save music for my last art encounter because it is such an important part of my life. I wanted time to reflect and think about how music has influenced the humanities over time and which aspect I considered the most important. I would call myself an amateur songwriter and wanted to find a synthesis that explored the essence of inspiration; where it comes from and how it is manifested.There were several general concepts that I identified. One was pain or loss. The cathartic release of pain through a song, when done in a universal, non-self referential way can be healing. Next, its probably safe to say that love has inspired more songs than any other subject. Last, but not least, is hope. Most of my favorite songs hold some element of hope. Hope helps us overcome adversity. I contemplated the areas we’ve studied, as well as the artists and ideas that have influenced me. Recognizing that we have not covered, in depth, any single war in class, I realized that war and conflict surrounded ideas, works of art, and cultural identify. It serves as inspiration and catalyst for change. It is also the voice of the common people and the leaders. So, I ask myself: “Which song(s), born of conflict, best encapsulate pain, love and hope?”
There are military marches, drum and fife, hymns, folk songs, protest songs, and contemporary country songs. Given the seemingly endless list of choices, I stuck with those I know, have moved me, and are deeply personal. As it turns out my favorite songs favor an anti-war message. Most of these reference time lines covered in class with an emphasis on Part Three of The Human Spirit; The Age of Anxiety. There are couple that may be more recent but balance out my idea.
Here are two songs of pain of war. The first song is Red Army Blues by the Waterboys, written by Mike Scott. It appeared on the album A Pagan Place, released in 1984.
It has the backdrop of World War II and explores the ideology of the Russian military leaders, as told by a common soldier. In Chapter 5 of The Human Spirit, there is the awakening of Russian ideas that continue to grow and this story is a consequence of the narrowing of their fears of Western influence. According to Wikipedia, (which appeared to be the best available resource):
"Red Army Blues" first appeared on the twelve-inch single for "December" from The Waterboys. The song is a first-person narrative of the life of a young Soviet soldier in World War II who participates in the Battle of Berlin. The soldier, along with many others, is sent to the Gulag by Stalin. Al Stewart's 1974 song "Roads to Moscow" tells a very similar story. Both songs are based upon the book The Diary of Vikenty Angorov.[4]
Red Army Blues
When I left my home and my family
my mother said to me
"Son, it's not how many Germans you kill that counts
It's how many people you set free!"
So I packed my bags
brushed my cap
Walked out into the world
seventeen years old
Never kissed a girl
Took the train to Voronezh
that was as far as it would go
Changed my sacks for a uniform
bit my lip against the snow
I prayed for mother Russia
in the summer of '43
And as we drove the Germans back
I really believed
That God was listening to me
We howled into Berlin
tore the smoking buildings down
Raised the red flag high
burnt the reichstag brown
I saw my first American
and he looked a lot like me
He had the same kinda farmer's face
said he'd come from some place called Hazzard, Tennessee
Then the war was over
my discharge papers came
Me and twenty hundred others
went to Stettiner for the train
Kiev! said the commissar
from there your own way home
But I never got to Kiev
we never came by home
Train went north to the Taiga
we were stripped and marched in file
Up the great siberian road
for miles and miles and miles and miles
Dressed in stripes and tatters
in a gulag left to die
All because Comrade Stalin was scared that
we'd become too westernized!
Used to love my country
used to be so young
Used to believe that life was
the best song ever sung
I would have died for my country
in 1945
But now only one thing remains
but now only one thing remains
But now only one thing remains
but now only one thing remains
The brute will to survive!
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Another song that tells a great story of war is the Pogues cover of And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda written by Eric Bogle. It was released in 1985 on the album Rum, Sodomy, and the Lash.
This song is from a soldiers perspective from the Battle of Gallipoli in World War I. The title and part of the melody includes a nod to Waltzing Matilda written by 'Banjo' (A.B.) Patterson, c. 1890. In Chapter 6 of The Human Spirit, World War I and II become the overshadowing setting of many of the changes happening in the world.
And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda
When I was a young man I carried my pack
And I lived the free life of a rover
From the Murrays green basin to the dusty outback
I waltzed my Matilda all over
Then in nineteen fifteen my country said Son
It's time to stop rambling 'cause there's work to be done
So they gave me a tin hat and they gave me a gun
And they sent me away to the war
And the band played Waltzing Matilda
As we sailed away from the quay
And amidst all the tears and the shouts and the cheers
We sailed off to Gallipoli
How well I remember that terrible day
How the blood stained the sand and the water
And how in that hell that they called Suvla Bay
We were butchered like lambs at the slaughter
Johnny Turk he was ready, he primed himself well
He chased us with bullets, he rained us with shells
And in five minutes flat he'd blown us all to hell
Nearly blew us right back to Australia
But the band played Waltzing Matilda
As we stopped to bury our slain
We buried ours and the Turks buried theirs
Then we started all over again
Now those that were left, well we tried to survive
In a mad world of blood, death and fire
And for ten weary weeks I kept myself alive
But around me the corpses piled higher
Then a big Turkish shell knocked me arse over tit
And when I woke up in my hospital bed
And saw what it had done, I wished I was dead
Never knew there were worse things than dying
For no more I'll go waltzing Matilda
All around the green bush far and near
For to hump tent and pegs, a man needs two legs
No more waltzing Matilda for me
So they collected the cripples, the wounded, the maimed
And they shipped us back home to Australia
The armless, the legless, the blind, the insane
Those proud wounded heroes of Suvla
And as our ship pulled into Circular Quay
I looked at the place where my legs used to be
And thank Christ there was nobody waiting for me
To grieve and to mourn and to pity
And the band played Waltzing Matilda
As they carried us down the gangway
But nobody cheered, they just stood and stared
Then turned all their faces away
And now every April I sit on my porch
And I watch the parade pass before me
And I watch my old comrades, how proudly they march
Reliving old dreams of past glory
And the old men march slowly, all bent, stiff and sore
The forgotten heroes from a forgotten war
And the young people ask, "What are they marching for?"
And I ask myself the same question
And the band plays Waltzing Matilda
And the old men answer to the call
But year after year their numbers get fewer
Some day no one will march there at all
Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda
Who'll come a waltzing Matilda with me
And their ghosts may be heard as you pass the Billabong
Who'll come-a-waltzing Matilda with me?
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Next are two songs of love. The idea of pain and loss still remains but the focus is of the heart. The first one is The Wind That Shakes the Barley written by Robert Dwyer Joyce (1836–1883) and performed by Dead Can Dance. It was included on the 1994 release of the live recording Toward the Within.
The a cappella performance by Lisa Gerrard gives the song a far more haunting feel than other versions I’ve heard. In Chapter 3 of The Human Spirit, The Birth of the Modern, countries were inspired by the French and American success and sought to overturn foreign rule. This story tells of a United Irishman joining to oust the British rule of Ireland during the Irish rebellion of 1798. According to the King Laoghaire website:
This is an excellent example of many songs that serve both as love lyric and rebel song. The scene described refers to the 1798 rising. The words are the work of Robert Dwyer Joyce (1830-1883), a professor of English Literature at Catholic University in Dublin. In danger of arrest for rebel activities, Joyce fled to the United States. He later returned to Ireland and died in Dublin in 1883.
The Wind That Shakes the Barley
I sat within a valley green
I sat me with my true love
My sad heart strove to choose between
The old love and the new love
The old for her, the new that made
Me think on Ireland dearly
While soft the wind blew down the glade
And shook the golden barley
Twas hard the woeful words to frame
To break the ties that bound us
But harder still to bear the shame
Of foreign chains around us
And so I said, "The mountain glen
I'll seek at morning early
And join the bold United Men
While soft winds shake the barley"
While sad I kissed away her tears
My fond arms 'round her flinging
The foeman's shot burst on our ears
From out the wildwood ringing
A bullet pierced my true love's side
In life's young spring so early
And on my breast in blood she died
While soft winds shook the barley
I bore her to some mountain stream
And many's the summer blossom
I placed with branches soft and green
About her gore-stained bosom
I wept and kissed her clay-cold corpse
Then rushed o'er vale and valley
My vengeance on the foe to wreak
While soft winds shook the barley
But blood for blood without remorse
I've taken at Oulart Hollow
And laid my true love's clay-cold corpse
Where I full soon may follow
As 'round her grave I wander drear
Noon, night and morning early
With breaking heart when e'er I hear
The wind that shakes the barley
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Here is a song that falls outside of our course material, but looks at love and war from a couple of perspectives. The love of a father toward his son and also the love of humanity. It’s really about the conflict between “Thou shall not kill” and the necessity of killing. This song was written by me in 2008 after I found out my younger brother was being sent to Iraq. The song is performed by my “online” friend Jeff Ward, who really captured the essence. I put together this video for the class since I thought it may make the song more compelling. Craig Brickhardt had an interesting comment about this song:
I love the message in this lyric because it highlights the no-win situation of warfare. A father telling his son to kill because he loves him, and the son's confrontation with another human being on the battlefield-- it doesn't get more poignant than this.
SHOOT FIRST
I walked from the mailbox down the long gravel drive
As wind swept the wheat fields that lined it on both sides
Set the letter on the table and didn't say a word
Guess my face told my dad that I'd been called to serve
He said, "Son, I've never been, so I don't really know
But there's something I wanna say before you have to go”
Always seek out peace
But don't be afraid to fight
And remember that your life
Is worth more than your pride
When you face your enemy
Don't be too surprised
If you see a young farm boy
Looking back through his eyes
There's no way around it, son, it's gonna hurt
But....Shoot First
We rolled out of Balad as the sun was settin' down
I heard shouts call out behind me so I dropped and spun around
Crouched behind a rock wall, down on one knee
I could see a black eyed kid 'bout the same age as me
I felt startled as my own gun cracked and rang
And I wondered if his dad had told him the same thing
(Chorus)
As my plane lifted up into the hot desert wind
I gave a long salute to nothin' but the sand
I told myself I'd say a prayer each and every night
For a lost farmer's son and the words that saved my life
(Chorus)
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Last, here are two war songs that best reflect hope. This delves into Chapter 7 of The Human Spirit and, although we haven’t officially covered this section in class, the events are recent enough to be part of our more common knowledge of the world today. Both of my choices are from 1971 and are directly tied to the deep division of the Vietnam War and the anti-war sentiment around the world. In 1967, a few months before I was born, Martin Luther King Jr delivered a speech that summed up how many Americans felt about the Vietnam War:
Now, it should be incandescently clear that no one who has any concern for the integrity and life of America today can ignore the present war. If America's soul becomes totally poisoned, part of the autopsy must read: Vietnam. It can never be saved so long as it destroys the deepest hopes of men the world over. So it is that those of us who are yet determined that America will be -- are -- are led down the path of protest and dissent, working for the health of our land.
One of my favorites is Marvin Gaye’s What’s Goin’ On written by Renaldo "Obie" Benson, Al Cleveland, and Marvin Gaye. This song is timeless and the message is honest. It appeared on the 1971 album of the same name.
According to Eric Henderson of Slant Magazine:
Gaye's choice to emphasize humanity at its most charitable rather than paint bleak pictures of destruction and disillusionment is characteristic of the album that follows.
What's Going On lyrics
Mother, mother
There's too many of you crying
Brother, brother, brother
There's far too many of you dying
You know we've got to find a way
To bring some lovin' here today, yeah
Father, father
We don't need to escalate
You see, war is not the answer
For only love can conquer hate
You know we've got to find a way
To bring some lovin' here today
Picket lines and picket signs
Don't punish me with brutality
Talk to me
So you can see
Oh, what's going on
What's going
Right on, baby
Right on
Right on
Mother, mother
Everybody thinks we're wrong
Oh, but who are they to judge us
Simply because our hair is long
Oh, you know we've got to find a way
To bring some understanding here today
Picket lines and picket signs
Don't punish me with brutality
Come on talk to me
So you can see
What's going on
What's going on
Tell me what's going on
I'll tell you ya, what's going on
Right on, baby
Right on, baby
Right on, baby
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The last song I selected was Peace Train written by Cat Stevens, (aka Yusuf Islam). This was released in 1971, the same year as Marvin Gaye’s album.
Despite the introduction and explanation he gives in the live clip below, the song fit the public sentiment. As one reviewer put it:
As peace can be considered to be an inner state of centralized feeling, its projection outward is the real benefit of this song. Protest music and the hippie movement of the ‘60s was living proof that one’s feelings can make a difference.
Peace Train
Now I've been happy lately,
thinking about the good things to come
And I believe it could be,
something good has begun
Oh I've been smiling lately,
dreaming about the world as one
And I believe it could be,
some day it's going to come
Cause out on the edge of darkness,
there rides a peace train
Oh peace train take this country,
come take me home again
Now I've been smiling lately,
thinking about the good things to come
And I believe it could be,
something good has begun
Oh peace train sounding louder
Glide on the peace train
Come on now peace train
Yes, peace train holy roller
Everyone jump upon the peace train
Come on now peace train
Get your bags together,
go bring your good friends too
Cause it's getting nearer,
it soon will be with you
Now come and join the living,
it's not so far from you
And it's getting nearer,
soon it will all be true
Now I've been crying lately,
thinking about the world as it is
Why must we go on hating,
why can't we live in bliss
Cause out on the edge of darkness,
there rides a peace train
Oh peace train take this country,
come take me home again
Later, Cat Stevens converted to Islam and I thought this was a very interesting reworking of the song worth including.
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One thing struck me as I was writing this blog and reflecting on all of these songs, as well as many others not included here: we are not done writing protest songs. There are wars we are fighting and there are wars to come. While these songs may influence some, no song will change the world. John Lennon and Yoko Ono said “Give Peace a Chance” but the message oversimplifies the basis of human conflict. I think the Dalai Lama has the most accurate insight on World Peace:
Of the many problems we face today, some are natural calamities and must be accepted and faced with equanimity. Others, however, are of our own making, created by misunderstanding, and can be corrected. One such type arises from the conflict of ideologies, political or religious, when people fight each other for petty ends, losing sight of the basic humanity that binds us all together as a single human family. We must remember that the different religions, ideologies, and political systems of the world are meant for human beings to achieve happiness. We must not lose sight of this fundamental goal and at no time should we place means above ends; the supremacy of humanity over matter and ideology must always be maintained.
