Go ask these questions on a thread that invites them. This is a protest music thread.
Billy Bragg is one who has been writing and performing, here's just two:-
Rumours of War -Billy Bragg
" There are soldiers maching on the common today
They were there again this evening
They paced up and down like sea birds on the ground
Before the storm clouds gathering
I must buy whatever tinned food is left on the shelves
They are testing the air raid sirens
They've filled up the blood banks and emptied the beds
At the hospital and the asylum
I saw a man build a shelter in his garden today
As we stood there idly chatting
He said "no, no I don't think war will come"
Yet still he carried on digging
Everything in my life that I love
could be swept away without warning
Yet the birds still sing and the church bells ring
And the sun came up this morning
Life goes on as it did before
As the country drifts slowly to war "
Help Save the Youth of America-Billy Bragg
"Help save the youth of America
Help save them from themselves
Help save the sun-tanned surfer boys
And the Californian girls
When the lights go out in the rest of the World
What do our cousins say
They're playing in the sun and having fun fun fun
Till Daddy takes the gun away
From the Big Church to the Big River
And out to the Shining Sea
This is the Land of Opportunity
And there's a Monkey Trial on tv
A nation with their freezers full
Are dancing in their seats
While outside another nation
Is sleeping in the streets
Don't tell me the old old story
Tell me the truth this time
Is the Man in the Mask or the Indian
An enemy or a friend of mine
Help save the youth of America
Help save the youth of the World
Help save the boys in the uniform
Their mothers and their faithful girls
Listen to the voice of the soldier
Down in the killing zone
Talking about the cost of living
And the price of bringing him home
They're already shipping the body bags
Down below the Rio Grande
But you can fight for democracy at home
And not in some foreign land
And the fate of the great United States
Is entwined with the fate of us all
And the incident in Tschernobyl proves
The World we live in is very small
And the cities of Europe have burned before
And they may yet burn again
And if they do I hope you understand
That Washington will burn with them
Omaha will burn with them
Los Alamos will burn with them "
Billy Bragg is one of a kind. I love his songs. But he isn't a modern artist. Where is eminem? Where is Britney? Is this the evidence all they really want is $$$$$$. Or is this the evidence of the singer transformed in a performer with no ideas of his/her own. They dont write the music, they dont write the lyrics, they dont invent the dance steps.
99 Red Ballons
you And I In A Little Toy Shop
buy A Bag Of Balloons With The Money We've Got
set Them Free At The Break Of Dawn
'til One By One, They Were Gone
back At Base, Bugs In The Software
flash The Message, "something's Out There"
floating In The Summer Sky
99 Red Balloons Go By.
99 Red Balloons Floating In The Summer Sky
panic Bells, It's Red Alert
there's Something Here From Somewhere Else
the War Machine Springs To Life
opens Up One Eager Eye
focusing It On The Sky
where 99 Red Balloons Go By.
99 Decision Street, 99 Ministers Meet
to Worry, Worry, Super-scurry
call The Troops Out In A Hurry
this Is What We've Waited For
this Is It Boys, This Is War
the President Is On The Line
as 99 Red Balloons Go By.
99 Knights Of The Air
ride Super-high-tech Jet Fighters
everyone's A Silverhero
everyone's A Captain Kirk
with Orders To Identify
to Clarify And Classify
scramble In The Summer Sky
as 99 Red Balloons Go By.
as 99 Red Balloons Go By.
99 Dreams I Have Had
in Every One A Red Balloon
it's All Over And I'm Standin' Pretty
in This Dust That Was A City
if I Could Find A Souvenier
just To Prove The World Was Here...
and Here Is A Red Balloon
i Think Of You And Let It Go.
Sting: Russians
(from: The dream of the blue turtles, 1985)
In Europe and America, there's a growing feeling of hysteria
Conditioned to respond to all the threats
In the rhetorical speeches of the Soviets
Mr. Krushchev said we will bury you
I don't subscribe to this point of view
It would be such an ignorant thing to do
If the Russians love their children too
How can I save my little boy from Oppenheimers deadly toy
There is no monopoly of common sense
On either side of the political fence
We share the same biology
Regardless of ideology
Believe me when I say to you
I hope the Russians love their children too
There is no historical precedent
To put the words in the mouth of the president
There's no such thing as a winnable war
It's a lie we don't believe anymore
Mr. Reagan says we will protect you
I don't subscribe to this point of view
Believe me when I say to you
I hope the Russians love their children too
We share the same biology
Regardless of ideology
What might save us me and you
Is that the Russians love their children too
WORLD LEADER PRETEND - REM
(from the _Green_ inner sleeve/booklet/insert)
I sit at my table and wage war on myself
It seems like it's all...it's all for nothing
I know the barricades, and
I know the mortar in the wall breaks
I recognize the weapons, I used them well
This is my mistake. Let me make it good
I raised the wall, and I will be the one to knock it down
I've a rich understanding of my finest defenses
I proclaim that claims are left unstated,
I demand a rematch
I decree a stalemate
I divine my deeper motives
I recognize the weapons
I've practiced them well. I fitted them myself
It's amazing what devices you can sympathize...empathize
This is my mistake. Let me make it good
I raised the walls, and I will be the one to knock it down
Reach out for me and hold me tight. Hold that memory
Let my machine talk to me. Let my machine talk to me
This is my world
And I am the world leader pretend
This is my life
And this is my time
I have been given the freedom
To do as I see fit
It's high time I've razed the walls
That I've constructed
It's amazing what devices you can sympathize...emapathize
This is my mistake. Let me make it good
I raised the walls, and I will be the one to knock it down
You fill in the mortar. You fill in the harmony
You fill in the mortar. I raised the walls
And I'm the only one
I will be the one to knock it down
What is it good for? About 74 Billion at this point.
Edgarblythe wrote:Even WWII could have been prevented or at least kept small ...
It could be prevented, if Hitler was treated the same way Saddam is being treated nowadays. But this should be done at the very moment he started breaching conditions of the Versailles peace treaty (I know that its conditions were unjust, but at that time there was nothing better). Then 50 million victims of this war (including Germans, by the way) would remain alive.
anti war poem
This is the story that must be told
of an Iraqi baby, not very old.
Lying in her crib one star lit night
How could she know of those planes in flight?
She lay there quietly touching her nose,
Watching her mobile, wiggling her toes,
Oohing and cooing, so sweetly is she,
Talking to someone, who could it be?
An angel is standing with her in the room.
The baby is smiling, unaware of her doom.
The crib starts to shake and the mobile goes round.
And suddenly comes a most deafening sound.
The ceiling drops in, in a second or two ...
On top of her crib so she ceases to coo ...
No one knows how long she lie there
Who thought about it? doesn't anyone care?
Is she alive? is she dead? Is she in any pain?
Now that you mention it, who knows her name?
Her name is Amal. In English we say Hope.
Crushed between the rubble, her tiny fingers start to grope.
Where is my mommy? I love her so dear
Come, get me mommy! It's dark in here!
I'm scared and I'm hungry and I can't see my feet.
There's blood in my mouth! Give me something to eat!
Where is my daddy? Where's my big brother?
It hurts when I breath! Where is my mother?!
How long have I been here? Is this just a dream?
I open my mouth, but can't even scream.
That angel appears once again to my side,
This time with a tear I plead Why have I died?
Am I alone in my sufferings? No, there are many others.
In our grief and our misery, we are sisters and brothers.
Who are we? I ask you ... for what crime did we die?
They're throwing a party! Doesn't anyone cry?!
Is it True? Am I nothing?! How could it be?
Don't they also have babies, just like me?
It is war they say, of which death is part.
How blind they've become, How hardened of heart.
Did someone say hero? To whom do they speak?
A victory claimed for killing the weak?!
Why are they happy? Why are they proud?
Don't they know that I'm cold in my burial shroud?!
No war has been won; No ifs, buts, or maybes,
For Saddam Still Lives
They've Only Killed Babies!!!!
War
War does have a place. If war will ultimately save more lives, and raise quality of life, then of course it's the right course of action. The fact though, is that such a situation is obscenely rare to find.
WW2 could have been avoided. Germany was raped of too much after WW1 which created unrest, poverty and anger. America and Briton met and supported Hitler (yes, fraid it's true). War was waged against Nazi Germany because it was the last option, and it was the last option because Germany had already started the invasions. Remember that WW2 had the Allies as defence and Axis as offence; it's therefore meaningless to say that war was the right course of action since it was Germany's war, and not those being invaded.
Iraq is a different situation. Although it started the same (US and UK financing and supporting the dictator), it's become something very different. Noteably because Iraq was invaded by America (not the other way round), and because Iraq was Not violating treaties or policies at time of attack (which America certainly were). Oh, and Iraq has been bombed by the US at least once a week for the last ten years - another fact that often goes unknown.
Sorry to prattle on about that for so long, I respect that this forum isn't about war, but for songs. So i ask we give a moment's thought to Edwin Starr; the writer and artist behind 'War, What Is It Good For?' who died tragically a few days ago.
Daf
