Moving War Songs

[dubhlinn]

Way to go Cow...way to go.


Peace,
D.

[oleorezinator]

soulful war songs? the best is war by the late edwin starr : http://www.edwinstarr.info/ listen to it here : http://www.towerrecords.com/product.aspx?pfid=2980011

[oleorezinator]

Does it have to be soul?

"Soul" is a rather fluid definition, I think.

Here're the lyrics to the songs I mentioned:

Paddy's Lament (traditional, sung by Sinéad O'Connor)

Well it's by the hush, me boys, and sure that's to mind your noise
And listen to poor Paddy's sad narration
I was by hunger stressed, and in poverty distressed
So I took a thought I'd leave the Irish nation

Well I sold me horse and cow, my little pigs and sow
Me father's farm of land I soon departed
And me sweetheart Bid McGee, I'm afraid I'll never see
For I left her there that morning broken-hearted

Hear ye boys, now take my advice
To America I'll have ye's not be going
There is nothing here but war, where the murderin' cannons roar
And I wish I was at home in dear old Dublin

Well meself and a hundred more, to America sailed o'er
Our fortunes to be making we were thinkin'
When we got to Yankee land, they put guns into our hands
Saying "Paddy, you must go and fight for Lincoln"

Hear ye boys, now take my advice
To America I'll have YOUSE not be going
There is nothing here but war, where the murderin' cannons roar
And I wish I was at home in dear old Dublin

General Meagher to us he said, if you get shot or lose your Head
Every MOTHER'S SON of youse will get a pension
Well in the war I lost me leg, AND ALL I'VE NOW'S A WOODEN PEG
And by me soul it is the truth to you I mention

Hear ye boys, now take my advice
To America I'll have YOUSE not be coming
There is nothing here but war, where the murderin' cannons roar
And I wish I was at home in dear old Dublin

Well I think meself in luck, if I get fed on Indianbuck
And old Ireland is the country I delight in
To the devil, I would say, God curse Americay
For the truth I've had enough of their hard fightin

Hear ye boys, now take my advice
To America I'll have youse not be going
There is nothing here but war, where the murderin' cannons roar
And I wish I was at home in dear old Dublin

I wish I was at home
I wish I was at home
I wish I was at home in dear old Dublin

DIXIE CHICKS - Travelin' Soldier

Two days past eighteen
He was waiting for the bus in his army green
Sat down in a booth in a cafe there
Gave his order to a girl with a bow in her hair
He's a little shy so she gives him a smile
And he said would you mind sittin' down for a while
And talking to me,
I'm feeling a little low
She said I'm off in an hour and I know where we can go

So they went down and they sat on the pier
He said I bet you got a boyfriend but I don't care
I got no one to send a letter to
Would you mind if I sent one back here to you

Chorus: I cried
Never gonna hold the hand of another guy
Too young for him they told her
Waitin' for the love of a travelin' soldier
Over love will never end
Waitin' for the soldier to come back again
Never more to be alone when the letter said
A soldier's coming home

So the letters came from an army camp
In California then Vietnam
And he told her of his heart
It might be love and all of the things he was so scared of
He said when it's getting kinda rough over here
I think of that day sittin' down at the pier
And I close my eyes and see your pretty smile
Don't worry but I won't be able to write for awhile

[Chorus]

One Friday night at a football game
The Lord's Prayer said and the Anthem sang
A man said folks would you bow your heads
For a list of local Vietnam dead
Crying all alone under the stands
Was a piccolo player in the marching band
And one name read and nobody really cared
But a pretty little girl with a bow in her hair

has anyone heard paul brady's version of paddy's lament on the gathering lp ? vastly superior to sine-aid's yelping.

[GaryKelly]

S1m0n mentioned Eric Bogle, I'm surprised no-one's mentioned his "Green Fields of France". I saw Finbar Furey perform that one a couple of weeks ago...stirring stuff:

Willie McBride / Green Fields Of France / No Man's Land

Well how do you do Private William McBride,
Do you mind if I sit here down by your graveside?
And rest for awhile beneath the warm summer sun,
I've been walking all day and now I'm nearly done
I see by your gravestone you were only nineteen
When you joined the glorious fallen in 1916;
Well I hope you died quick and I hope you died clean,
Or, young Willie McBride, was it slow and obscene?

Refrain:
Did they beat the drum slowly,
Did they play the fife lowly?
Did they sound the Death March
As they lowered you down?
Did the band play
"The Last Post And Chorus?"
Did the pipes play
"The Flowers Of The Forest?"

Did you leave 'ere a wife or a sweetheart behind?
In some faithful heart is your memory enshrined?
And although you died back in 1916,
In that faithful heart are you forever nineteen?
Or are you a stranger without even a name,
Enclosed forever behind a glass pane,
In an old photograph, torn, and battered and stained,
And faded to yellow in a brown leather frame?

Refrain:

Ah the sun now it shines on these green fields of France,
The warm summer breeze makes the red poppies dance,
And look how the sun shines from under the clouds;
There's no gas, no barbed wire, there're no guns firing now.
But here in this graveyard is still No Man's Land,
The countless white crosses in mute witness stand
To man's blind indifference to his fellow man,
To a whole generation that was butchered and damned.

Refrain:

Ah, young Willie McBride, I can't help wonder why,
Did all those who lay here really know why they died?
And did they believe when they answered the call,
Did they really believe that this war would end war?
For the sorrow, the suffering, the glory, the pain,
The killing and dying were all done in vain,
For, young Willie McBride, it all happened again,
And again and again and again and again.

Refrain:

[Henkersbraut]

S1m0n mentioned Eric Bogle, I'm surprised no-one's mentioned his "Green Fields of France".

It was the song I was thinking about too. The translation of "Green Fields of France" made by Hannes Wader into German is even better when sung live by Eric Fish.

Es ist an der Zeit (Wader / Bogle)

Weit in der Champagne im Mittsommergrün
dort, wo zwischen Grabkreuzen Mohnblumen blühn
da flüstern die Gräser und wiegen sich leicht
im Wind, der sanft über das Gräberfeld streicht
auf deinem Kreuz finde ich, toter Soldat
deinen Namen nicht, nur Ziffern und jemand hat
die Zahl neunzehnhundertundsechzehn gemalt
und du warst nicht einmal neunzehn Jahre alt

Ja, auch dich haben sie schon genauso belogen
so wie sie es mit uns heute immer noch tun
und du hast ihnen alles gegeben
deine Kraft, deine Jugend, dein Leben

Hast du, toter Soldat, mal ein Mädchen geliebt?
sicher nicht denn nur dort, wo es Frieden gibt
können Zärtlichkeit und Vertrauen gedeihn
warst Soldat, um zu sterben, nicht um jung zu sein
vielleicht dachtest du dir, ich falle schon bald
nehme mir mein Vergnügen, wie es kommt, mit Gewalt
dazu warst du entschlossen, hast dich aber dann
vor dir selber geschämt und es doch nie getan

Ja, auch dich haben sie schon genauso belogen
so wie sie es mit uns heute immer noch tun
und du hast ihnen alles gegeben
deine Kraft, deine Jugend, dein Leben

Soldat, gingst du gläubig und gern in den Tod?
oder hast du verzweifelt, verbittert, verroht
deinen wirklichen Feind nicht erkannt bis zum Schluß?
ich hoffe, es traf dich ein sauberer Schuß
oder hat ein Geschoß dir die Glieder zerfetzt
hast du nach deiner Mutter geschrien bis zuletzt
bist du auf deinen Beinstümpfen weitergerannt
und dein Grab, birgt es mehr als ein Bein, eine Hand?

Ja, auch dich haben sie schon genauso belogen
so wie sie es mit uns heute immer noch tun
und du hast ihnen alles gegeben
deine Kraft, deine Jugend, dein Leben

Es blieb nur das Kreuz als einzige Spur
von deinem Leben, doch hör meinen Schwur
für den Frieden zu kämpfen und wachsam zu sein
fällt die Menschheit noch einmal auf Lügen herein
dann kann es geschehn, daß bald niemand mehr Iebt,
niemand, der die Milliarden von Toten begräbt.
doch Iängst finden sich mehr und mehr Menschen bereit,
diesen Krieg zu verhindern, es ist an der Zeit.

Ja, auch dich haben sie schon genauso belogen
so wie sie es mit uns heute immer noch tun
und du hast ihnen alles gegeben
deine Kraft, deine Jugend, dein Leben

[SteveShaw]

Rumours Of War - Billy Bragg


There are soldiers marching 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
And 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

Steve

[missy]

how about another John Prine?

Your Flag Decal Won't Get You Into Heaven Anymore©
John Prine

While digesting Reader's Digest
In the back of a dirty book store,
A plastic flag, with gum on the back,
Fell out on the floor.
Well, I picked it up and I ran outside
Slapped it on my window shield,
And if I could see old Betsy Ross
I'd tell her how good I feel.

Chorus:
But your flag decal won't get you
Into Heaven any more.
They're already overcrowded
From your dirty little war.
Now Jesus don't like killin'
No matter what the reason's for,
And your flag decal won't get you
Into Heaven any more.

Well, I went to the bank this morning
And the cashier he said to me,
"If you join the Christmas club
We'll give you ten of them flags for free."
Well, I didn't mess around a bit
I took him up on what he said.
And I stuck them stickers all over my car
And one on my wife's forehead.

Repeat Chorus:

Well, I got my window shield so filled
With flags I couldn't see.
So, I ran the car upside a curb
And right into a tree.
By the time they got a doctor down
I was already dead.
And I'll never understand why the man
Standing in the Pearly Gates said...

"But your flag decal won't get you
Into Heaven any more.
We're already overcrowded
From your dirty little war.
Now Jesus don't like killin'
No matter what the reason's for,
And your flag decal won't get you
Into Heaven any more."

[MarkB]

I fine this one has a haunting sound to it, first heard it on the Cottars album, Made in Cape Breton.

Two Brothers (Civil War)
or ONE WORE BLUE AND ONE WORE GRAY
(Irving Gordon)

Two brothers on their way,
Two brothers on their way
Two brothers on their way,
One wore blue and one wore gray
One wore blue and one wore gray,
As they marched along their way
Fife and drum began to play,
All on a beautiful morning

One was gentle, one was kind,
One was gentle, one was kind,
One was gentle, one was kind,
One came back, one stayed behind
Cannonball don't pay no mind
If you're gentle or if you're kind
It don't think of the folks behind
Or of a beautiful morning

Two girls waiting by the railroad track,
Two girls waiting by the railroad track,
Two girls waiting by the railroad track,
One wore blue and one wore black
One wore blue and one wore black
Waiting by the railroad track
For their lovers to come back
All on a beautiful morning

MarkB

[Wombat]

soulful war songs? the best is war by the late edwin starr : http://www.edwinstarr.info/ listen to it here : http://www.towerrecords.com/product.aspx?pfid=2980011

I thought of that one along with loads of others but rejected it, not because I don't like it or its sentiments but because it is a bit too preachy to be really moving. Joe Tex did some Vietnam songs: 'I Believe I'm Gonna Make it' isn't moving at all. For me, personalising the horrors of war is what does it.

BTW, if you haven't heard Delia Gartrell's 'See What You Done Done' or Swamp Dogg's version of 'Sam Stone', do yourselves a favour and rectify it. They'll blow you away.

[I.D.10-t]

Unfortunately, now when I see this thread all I can think of is the song “Praise the lord and pass the ammunition”

Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition!
Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition!
Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition!
And we'll all stay free!
Praise the Lord and swing into position,
Can't afford to be a politician.
Praise the Lord, we're all between perdition
And the deep blue sea!
Yes, the sky pilot said it,
You've got to give him credit,
For a son-of-a-gunner was he, shouting:
Praise the Lord, we're on a mighty mission!
All aboard! We ain't a-goin' fishin'.
Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition,
And we'll all stay free!
(repeat first four lines)

Not the most moving war ditty!


And for a strange one here is Motorhead's

1916

16 years old when I went to war,
To fight for a land fit for heroes,
God on my side,and a gun in my hand,
Counting my days down to zero,
And I marched and I fought and I bled
And I died & I never did get any older,
But I knew at the time, That a year in the line,
Is a long enough life for a soldier,
We all volunteered,
And we wrote down our names,
And we added two years to our ages,
Eager for life and ahead of the game,
Ready for history's pages,
And we fought and we brawled
And we whored 'til we stood,
Ten thousand shoulder to shoulder,
A thirst for the Hun,
We were food for the gun,and that's
What you are when you're soldiers,
I heard my friend cry,
And he sank to his knees,coughing blood
As he screamed for his mother
And I tell by his, side,
And that's how we died,
Clinging like kids to each other,
And I lay in the mud
And the guts and the blood,
And I wept as his body grew colder,
And I called for my mother
And she never came,
Though it wasn't my fault
And I wasn't to blame,
The day not half over
And ten thousand slain,and now
There's nobody remembers our names Í
And that's how it is for a soldier. Ð

[fyffer]

An obscure song from Don McLean's "American Pie" album. It's the last song on side 1, entitled "The Grave"

The grave that they dug him had flowers
Gathered from the hillsides in bright summer colors,
And the brown earth bleached white at the edge of his gravestone.
He’s gone.

When the wars of our nation did beckon,
A man barely twenty did answer the calling.
Proud of the trust that he placed in our nation,
He’s gone,
But eternity knows him, and it knows what we’ve done.

And the rain fell like pearls on the leaves of the flowers
Leaving brown, muddy clay where the earth had been dry.
And deep in the trench he waited for hours,
As he held to his rifle and prayed not to die.

But the silence of night was shattered by fire
As guns and grenades blasted sharp through the air.
And one after another his comrades were slaughtered.
In morgue of marines, alone standing there.

He crouched ever lower, ever lower with fear.
"they can’t let me die! the can’t let me die here!
I’ll cover myself with the mud and the earth.
I’ll cover myself! I know I’m not brave!
The earth! the earth! the earth is my grave."

The grave that they dug him had flowers
Gathered from the hillsides in bright summer colors,
And the brown earth bleached white at the edge of his gravestone.
He’s gone.

[dubhlinn]

BTW, if you haven't heard Delia Gartrell's 'See What You Done Done' or Swamp Dogg's version of 'Sam Stone', do yourselves a favour and rectify it. They'll blow you away.

Such a lovely thought...and precise as well.

Slan,
D.

*applauds loudly*

[peteinmn]

In the Hills of Shiloh (Friedman/Silverstein)


Have you seen Amanda Blaine
In the hills of Shiloh
Wandering in the morning rain
In the hills of Shiloh
Have you seen her at her door
Listenin' for the cannons roar
And the man who went to war
From the hills of Shiloh

Have you heard her mournful cries
In the hills of Shiloh
Have you seen her haunted eyes
In the hills of Shiloh
Have you seen her run down
Searchin' through the sleeping town
In her yellow wedding gown
In the hills of Shiloh

Have you seen her standin' there
In the hills of Shiloh
When the blow wind through her hair
In the hills of Shiloh
Listenin' for the sound of guns
Listenin' for the rollin' drums
And the man who never comes
To the hills of Shiloh

Have you heard Amanda sing
In the hills of Shiloh
Whispering to her wedding ring
In the hills of Shiloh
Hear her humming soft and low
Poor Amanda does not know
'Twas ended forty years ago
In the hills of Shiloh

Joan Biez sang a very mournful version of this.

[Bloomfield]

I thought of that one along with loads of others but rejected it, not because I don't like it or its sentiments but because it is a bit too preachy to be really moving. Joe Tex did some Vietnam songs: 'I Believe I'm Gonna Make it' isn't moving at all. For me, personalising the horrors of war is what does it.

Yes! Agreed: simplicity and the connection with the individual is what does it. For percisely that reason, this has long been my favorite:

Portland Town

I was born in Portland town
I was born in Portland town
Yes I was, yes I was, yes I was.

I got married in Portland town
Had children one, two, three
Yes I did, yes I did, yes I did.

They sent them away to war
Ain't got no kids no more
No I ain't, no I ain't, no I ain't

I was born in Portland town
I was born in Portland town
Yes I was, yes I was, yes I was.


That is the version famously recorded by Joan Baez in the Sixties (there are several floating around, none quite as powerful as this one).

The particular genius of this song is its extreme economy. Birth, marriage, children, death. That is what it all comes down to, and war reduces us to barest minimum of existence. The song echoes the cycle of life, and that makes the lines "They sent them away to war/Ain't got no kids no more" stand out all the more brutally and unnaturally.

The song was written by Derroll Adams, an important figure in the folk revival and afterwards, who yet remained undeservedly obscure. Derroll went to Europe with Rambling Jack Elliott in the fifties, I think, and spent most of his life in England, France, and Belgium. He died in 2000.

Derroll had this to say about Portland Town, as reported by Tucker Zimmerman:

[Deroll] once told me the story of Portland Town. "It was during the Korean War. I was in California, on a beach at night, somewhere south of Monterey, down past Morro Bay. Pismo Beach I think it was. I came upon this campfire by the ocean, a man and his wife, middle-age. They said sit down stranger and join us. I sat down at their fire and they shared their food and drink with me. They were from Portland. My hown town. We traded stories and we got to know each other better. Later, when we'd had a few more drinks, they broke down and told me the story they'd been wanting to tell from the start. They'd just lost all three of their boys in the war. Killed in action. Not one, not two, but all three. In the past six months. The woman - the mother, she said, 'I ain't gonna have no babies no more.' I'll tell you, man, it was the saddest of stories I'd ever heard. I had tears coming down my face. But they weren't crying. This man and this woman. They were just staring into the fire. They still couldn't believe it had happened."

[Denny]

Ya know Bloomfield,
that's gonna be one hard a hard act to follow.

Nicely put together.

Denny