Song Lyrics
Haven't done this in awhile but I wanted to post some song lyrics here. I just got a new group of songs in and theres a ton of good ones, but I'll wait to talk about all of those untill I rank them. For now I just wanted to share the song "rich man's war" by Steve Earl. Some of the best lyrics I've heard in a very long time (probobly since I first heard "I Hung My Head" by Johnny Cash about 7-8 months ago.) Anyway here they are:
Jimmy joined the army ‘cause he had no place to go
There ain’t nobody hirin’ ‘round here since all the jobs went down to Mexico
Reckoned that he’d learn himself a trade maybe see the world
Move to the city someday and marry a black haired girl
Somebody somewhere had another plan
Now he’s got a rifle in his hand
Rollin’ into Baghdad wonderin’ how he got this far
Just another poor boy off to fight a rich man’s war
Bobby had an eagle and a flag tattooed on his arm
Red white and blue to the bone when he landed in Kandahar
Left behind a pretty young wife and a baby girl
A stack of overdue bills and went off to save the world
Been a year now and he’s still there
Chasin’ ghosts in the thin dry air
Meanwhile back at home the finance company took his car
Just another poor boy off to fight a rich man’s war
When will we ever learn
When will we ever see
We stand up and take our turn
And keep tellin’ ourselves we’re free
Ali was the second son of a second son
Grew up in Gaza throwing bottles and rocks when the tanks would come
Ain’t nothin’ else to do around here just a game children play
Somethin’ ‘bout livin’ in fear all your life makes you hard that way
He answered when he got the call
Wrapped himself in death and praised Allah
A fat man in a new Mercedes drove him to the door
Just another poor boy off to fight a rich man’s war
I absolutely love the song and its message. The last verse is particularlly unsettelling. It sends the message that theres not to much difference between the American soliders who volunteer and the middle-eastern terrorists who blow up buses and cafes. This is of chorse an assumption that most people would find offensive and reprehensible. However, whether I believe that or not, I certainly don't think I could go so far as to call this song a lie. It diffinately makes me think.
This song is a great argument for why the peole who argue that politics should be kept out of music are dead wrong. I don't care if a song is about politics, love, death, cloths, food, Elvis, or Taco Bell... if its a good song its a good song.
Jimmy joined the army ‘cause he had no place to go
There ain’t nobody hirin’ ‘round here since all the jobs went down to Mexico
Reckoned that he’d learn himself a trade maybe see the world
Move to the city someday and marry a black haired girl
Somebody somewhere had another plan
Now he’s got a rifle in his hand
Rollin’ into Baghdad wonderin’ how he got this far
Just another poor boy off to fight a rich man’s war
Bobby had an eagle and a flag tattooed on his arm
Red white and blue to the bone when he landed in Kandahar
Left behind a pretty young wife and a baby girl
A stack of overdue bills and went off to save the world
Been a year now and he’s still there
Chasin’ ghosts in the thin dry air
Meanwhile back at home the finance company took his car
Just another poor boy off to fight a rich man’s war
When will we ever learn
When will we ever see
We stand up and take our turn
And keep tellin’ ourselves we’re free
Ali was the second son of a second son
Grew up in Gaza throwing bottles and rocks when the tanks would come
Ain’t nothin’ else to do around here just a game children play
Somethin’ ‘bout livin’ in fear all your life makes you hard that way
He answered when he got the call
Wrapped himself in death and praised Allah
A fat man in a new Mercedes drove him to the door
Just another poor boy off to fight a rich man’s war
I absolutely love the song and its message. The last verse is particularlly unsettelling. It sends the message that theres not to much difference between the American soliders who volunteer and the middle-eastern terrorists who blow up buses and cafes. This is of chorse an assumption that most people would find offensive and reprehensible. However, whether I believe that or not, I certainly don't think I could go so far as to call this song a lie. It diffinately makes me think.
This song is a great argument for why the peole who argue that politics should be kept out of music are dead wrong. I don't care if a song is about politics, love, death, cloths, food, Elvis, or Taco Bell... if its a good song its a good song.
posted by Blake Stockdale at 1:28 PM
1 Comments:
Amen. I had this long back-and-forth with a friend who insisted that politics had no place in music.
My argument is... what IS art if it isn't an expression of the artist's opinions, feelings, etc.? That's what art is!
And music, despite what some people think, is an art.
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