Where Have All the War Songs Gone?
We’ve still got a war going on. So where are the pro-war songs now? What’s happened to the kind of flag-waving, ass-kicking, score-settling sentiments that had crowds cheering and pumping their fists in the air back when Alan Jackson was still puzzled about the difference between Iraq and Iran? Whether it’s “The Battle Hymn of the Republic,” “Over There” or lyrical war cries of more recent vintage, there’s something really nasty and deceptive about songs that glorify combat, that hold it up as a bold adventure and a glorious clash between pure good and unalloyed evil. It’s harder to impart a festive mood to suicide bombings, beheadings, torture, the slaughter of civilians and another sprinkling of white crosses at Arlington.
The most memorable country songs of World War II, at least to me, are those that coped with the harsh realities of war and its aftermath — Ernest Tubb’s “Soldier’s Last Letter,” Gene Autry’s “At Mail Call Today,” Floyd Tillman’s “Each Night at Nine,” Bob Wills’ “Silver Dew on the Bluegrass Tonight” and “White Cross on Okinawa” and Merle Travis’ “No Vacancy.” The Korean War yielded such durable and honest goods as Jimmy Osborne’s “God Please Protect America” and the Jean Shepard-Ferlin Husky duet, “A Dear John Letter.” But it was on-the-spot television rather than songs that conveyed the horrors of the Vietnam War, although plenty of songs were written about it. Who can forget “Ballad of the Green Berets”? Well, just about everybody, I suspect.
The last war song of any stature to emerge from country music was Darryl Worley’s “I Just Came Back From a War,” which the singer wrote after performing in combat zones and witnessing the political and psychological complexities involved. In the song, a soldier ruminates about returning from “a place where they hated me and everything I stand for … a land where our brothers are dying for others who don’t even care anymore.” It’s not exactly a recruitment ditty. Compare that to Worley’s earlier gung-ho hit, “Have You Forgotten,” and you’ll see the difference between beating the drums and counting the costs. Maybe that’s why nobody’s singing about war these days — and why they shouldn’t sing about it so enthusiastically the next time.
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hotelmotel says:
The two worst of the recent war songs are, in my mind, “Have You Forgotten” because its lyrics are patronizing to those who disagree, and because it seems to be suggesting that we should go to war (in Iraq? — it never says for sure) because of how we felt on 9/11. I remember I felt miserable on 9/11 but those miserable feelings do not provide the basis for a war. Worley was so far out of his league when he wrote this song. He should have stuck to writing about things like getting “sideways on fridays”.
The other song that bothers me is “The Angry American” by Toby Keith, not because I disagree his idea that we should fight back (I agree with that) but because he seems a bit too happy to fight back. Lyrics like “We lit up your world like the fourth of July” and “We’ll put a boot in your — its the American way” are sung with such gusto that you get the idea that Toby takes pleasure in destruction. And thats what war does; even if the war was necessary, we shouldn’t take pleasure in having had to fight. Revenge may be necessary but it is not something to delight in.
It should be said that while there are a lot of terrible pro-war songs, the anti-war crowd has, throughout history, produced its fair share of naive, simplistic, and heavy handed songs too.
The Stephen Koal Band says:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLPSaHK770g Just copy and paste this address into your internet address bar. This is a song of war that has always meant a lot to us, and we would like to share it with the world. We would like to have it produced and give all of the proceeds of this song to the families who have lost love ones, or have suffered from the pain of war. Our hearts go out to all of you. You are all heroes. Thank you. Love and Peace. -The Stephen Koal Band
worleyfan says:
If Daryl Worley got a haircut, maybe he could see his way through a new song. With all that hair in the way, he probably just cant write.
Jean - Tobybears says:
Toby wrote the song for the soldiers, to keep them motivated. His dad lost his eye when he was on a training mission in the Army and Toby’s dad died a couple months before they hit the Towers. He said he was writing a song about how his dad would feel. He was brought up respecting the military so he has nothing but the utmost respect for them. I guess when another country attacks us we are suppose to just sit back. I’m with Toby, I’m proud of who he is and what he does. I hate it when people don’t know anything about the man, take the time to read about him and listen to him rather than listen to what other people say, including critics. Saying Toby takes pleasure in destruction, how sick are you. That man may sound tough but he has a big heart. If that was the case why would he open up a place in Oklahoma to help the children and their families who have cancer. Why would he take kids on stage at his concert and let them sing with him, why do anything like charitable work if you get a pleasure out of destruction. He also goes over there to entertain the troops and goes to the front line, not in the safe zones. It’s people like you that don’t know anything that make me mad.
skippy says:
I think in the flush of the moment of war we are all prone to patriotic feelings and a love of country. Once war begins, and continues on, as is the case in Iraq and Afghanistan, then the harsh realities of military involvement set in. Soldiers come home injured, maimed, dead, or psychologically scarred. Scandals erupt about military contractors or political ineptitude.
I’m currently reading a book about World War II, in particular the Sicilian and Italian campaigns. It’s amazing to read about the human errors which caused so many to lose their lives needlessly, how major invasions of enemy-held territory were carried out with wrong equipment, with little planning, etc…
It definitely takes your breath away thinking about how war is conducted in practice, rather than in theory, or via the Hollywood image machine.
So, at some point, we are all made aware of war’s horrors. And, sometimes, that can affect one’s perception of songs which, in a time of peace, would be considered wholly innocent. In particular, I am thinking about Miranda Lambert’s “Everybody Dies Famous in a Small Town.” I LOVE Miranda’s music, and I love just about everything about this song… but, at some point, I listened to that title phrase in the chorus and thought to myself: “You know, there are a lot of soldiers coming back home to their small towns to be buried… and there are a lot of people and communities out there hurting because of this war. If I can’t listen to this song objectively anymore, how can they?” And that sucks for Miranda, a very deserving and talented artist, but that’s how the tenor of the times can affect a song’s meaning. Whether that affected Country radio’s response to the single at the time - I don’t know.
I don’t think this war lends itself to easy, pat victories. I think, in the end, the “pro-war” songs that emerge going forward will probably be more about individual stories of brotherhood and sacrifice, or stories about how our soldiers helped a struggling society try and regain a sense of normality and peace. They will honor the troops, and maybe honor the cause they fought for, but not have the “winner takes all” flavor of some famous WWII songs.
Peter says:
Jean, did you not read what Hotelmotel wrote? “The other song that bothers me is “The Angry American” by Toby Keith, not because I disagree his idea that we should fight back (I agree with that)”
Try not to let your knee-jerk get in the way when you defend a man who thought putting a picture of Natalie Maines hugging Saddam Hussein up on his concert video screens would be a charitable idea
hotelmotel says:
Jean-Tobybears;
I should clarify my post.
1) I do not mean to imply that Toby likes destruction. I mean to say that the “Angry American” gives the impression that he does. And it gives that impression no matter what his real-life beliefs may be.
2)I am not a pacifist. And as Peter helpfully pointed out at 3:29 pm, I stated that I believe we should fight back over the 9/11 attacks. I certainly don’t think we should just “sit back,” as you put it, when another country attacks us. Yet, I recognize that war is miserable and thus a decision to go to war ought not be made lightly.
Finally, Skippy makes a great point at 1:28 pm, “It definitely takes your breath away thinking about how war is conducted in practice, rather than in theory, or via the Hollywood image machine.”
OutlawSteph says:
Nice blog Mr. Morris. You said it all. Nothing, and I mean nothing, is more embarrassing to country music than the jingoism that was expressed in some of those ‘war songs’. You can make a positive impact on those around you, or you can make a negative impact, and the Nashville establishment choose the latter with material like those songs. But it’s not over, I heard a “Christmas” song the other day on the country channel that went something like, mama got drunk and daddy got drunk and sister showed up with a Mexican. I don’t know who was singing it.. they all sound alike anyway, but it doesn’t matter. It’s just more racist trash. Put it in the garbage. Don’t recycle the trash… that means you Nashville.
-Stephanie
hotelmotel says:
OutlawSteph — the Song is Montgomery Gentry’s “Merry Christmas From the Family.” Its an older song, been out since at least 2001. The line about the mexican guy always bugged me, too. Its borderline racist.
Zaphod says:
“There is much talk about ‘jingoism’. If by ‘jingoism’ they mean a policy in pursuance of which Americans will with resolution and common sense insist upon our rights being respected by foreign powers, then we are ‘jingoes’.”
- Teddy Roosevelt, reminding Americans that there is nothing wrong with being patriotic.
Note to hotelmotel - is anything, in your opinion, worth fighting for?
Maddman says:
Just because someone is against the war in Iraq doesn’t mean they don’t think anything is worth fighting for. You can be against the war without being a pacifist. One of the reasons ‘Have you forgotten’ fills me with anger is that it colludes 9/11 and Iraq, when the two are completely unrelated.
In general I like my country music about pick up trucks, getting drunk, a woman that done me wrong, and little stories - not politics or preaching. So the lack of war songs of any stripe are a good thing to me. There’s this impression that all country music fans are conservative, but there’s plenty of liberals that like it too. And plenty of artists that are liberal but keep it out of the music for the most part. I don’t mind a little of politics and religion if its subtle, it makes it seem more sincire. More often IMO it comes off as throwing in a line about Jesus/Iraq so that Christians/Republicans will buy their album.
OutlawSteph says:
hotelmotel, I always look forward to your thoughtful comments as much as I do the original blog!
I saw a movie years ago called The Best Years of Our Lives which shows the plight of veterans returning from WWII and how they adjusted, or did not. Even though it was a Hollywood creation, it is a very poignant movie.
-Stephanie
Brian says:
We are all welcome to our opinions, and that is what all the fighting is about in the first place; To save us the right to do so. However, publicizing information about someone you’ve probably never met, much less spent any time with, can certainly be only personal opinion opposed to fact. Don’t anyone let this deterioration of supportive songwriting imply fact.
In fact, it’s too bad that the opinions expressed are more those by voters for liberal politicians, that think this war is soooo terrible, that we have to bring everybody home, than those that actually think freely on their own and deal with issues of reality. No question – any war is terrible. In the ideal situation we could all be loving and concerned for all others, and no war would ever exist. But when in reality, extreme nutbag terrorists are trying to take over, it’s usually the case over centuries of time, war is the outcome to reinstate civil thinking and actions. Yes, it’s terrible. Fact is, the war is ugly and people die.
Unfortunately, in my personal opinion, those people dying are fighting for you and me, as we lay all cuddled up at home at night and spending our days with friends and family. Yet those all comfy at home bitch about the war instead of supporting those over there fighting for us. They fall into the line of lemmings and believe only the tainted media, that only broadcasts the anti-war, and never the realities and consequences that we face. Fact is, the US Commander in Chief sent our military troops to defend our freedom. Right or wrong, whether from crashing planes into our homeland or saving us from weapons of mass destruction (big surprise – they weren’t there when we got there – because for “humane” reasons we had to warn the enemy we were coming. Great idea to save our country – NOT! Ask the 911 survivors how humane hijacking a plane is?), it’s the role our military plays. It’s the role our kids sign up for in the military. And unfortunately, it’s the role that sometimes comes to be when extremist are empowered to carry out their evil.
We have the option. Stand and fight off the evil. Or just sit back and let it roll over us. If you think we are losing kids now to the war – wait til we stop fighting it. THEN see how many die. Cuz it will then be you and me. No sleeping cuddled up in our beds anymore. No – it will be hiding, scared, and death that you and I will have to fight off ourselves, opposed to empowering our military and President to fight it off for us. You should consider what your anti-war rhetoric can cost us. It’s simple – our lives.
Yes, that’s an opinion - based on fact. That fact is, terrorism runs ramped throughout the world. If you think this battle is over, you are so sadly mistaken and you will bare the blood of those of us killed due to your decisions that we should bring our troops home before this job is complete. Terrorists want to kill Americans. They openly confess this with pride and are constantly raising funds to do so, personnel and devising new methods like hijacking and crashing into our buildings.
Unfortunately these bleeding-heart Americans won’t LET us put a boot in their ass – because it’s supposedly inhumane and just bad of us. Current president and future – PLEASE - put a boot in their ass, ELIMINATE the threat of terrorism, keep our homeland safe, fight the good fight on their soil, save us from dying on our own soil and complete the job.
To those wanting to withdraw our troops, a question – Consider for a moment, it’s your kids or your family over there in the desert, face to face with al-Quiada, guns drawn on each other, ready to pull the trigger. But you think we need to withdraw from the battle and bring your kids home. Will you ask your child to drop his/her weapon, turn around and walk away from the stand-off? Or will you instruct your child to fight, eliminate the threat that hopes to kill him/her, and pray to almighty God above, that your child wins?
If you continue to support the withdrawal of troops, you’ve essentially decided on the first. The enemy WILL pull their trigger the minute your kids drop their weapon, (remember, because you think it inhumane, need your babies home and killing is B-a-a-a-a-d) and you will get your wish. Your kids will come home indeed – in a casket with a bullet in their head.
Now multiply that times all the troops and the war we are fighting. You’ll put a bullet in all of our heads because the terrorists will get right back to their business, Killing Americans.
Have you heard of any car-bombing suicide attacks lately, where poeple are killed? Those taking that action are not Americans. They are the extremists wanting to kill Americans. Does daily car-bombings indicate to you that this war is completed and the threat has been eliminated?
With all due respect and the opinions we are all blessed with, please take off the rose-colored glasses, quit listening to the biased media broadcasts, think with your own mind, look at reality and consequences – and PLEASE let our kids finish this job. I’d like to continue all cuddled up at home in my bed at night without the threat of any enemy EVER torturing and killing me and my family. And I hope to avoid the same for you. THAT is a fact.
hotelmotel says:
Zaphod says “note to hotelmotel - is anything, in your opinion, worth fighting for?” If you read my prior posts you will see that I clearly believed the War in Afghanistan, immediately after 9/11, was justified.
Now,
Teddy Roosevelt’s comments, as quoted by Zaphod, are typical politician-speak.
Roosevelt knew that those who accused U.S. policy of jingoism did not, by jingoism mean “a policy of which Americans will with resolution and common sense insist upon our rights being respected by foreign powers.” Roosevelt is simply ignoring their arguments through a rhetorical trick.
Thus, Roosevelt begs the question - namely what is a common sense policy - raised by his opponents.
Finally, Roosevelt’s comments tell us nothing about whether patriotism is good, bad, or neutural.
Maddman says:
There’s a simple difference in opinion. I don’t see how Iraq has anything to do with my freedom. I don’t see how if we’d never invaded and occupied their country I’d be any less free, there’d be any of my countrymen dead (arguably, there’d be even less dead), or that anything they do is for me in any way. That’s why this war angers me so much - I believe that this is what they signed up for, to defend their country. And they’re dying for something totally unrelated to this goal.
Iraq has nothing to do with international terrorism, except for the small number that come in to plant IED and take potshots at our troops. Much of the problem is that there’s a civil war going on thanks to our bungling, and we aren’t making things any better by hanging around.
As for striking back at the terrorists, maybe if we’d gone full bore into Afghanistan instead of making the locals hate us with air strikes and handing over the country to tribal warlords we would have gotten Bin Laden and the people who actually attacked. Instead 9/11 was seen as ‘political capital’, used to justify a war of aggression.
I’m not even going to refer to ‘the terrorists’, as if they were a homogenous group. That isn’t very useful. There’s a lot of different groups who hate us for different reasons. Al-Queda doesn’t really hate us. They hate Israel and the House of Saud. We support both of those. Sorry, but they really aren’t motivated to destroy America. They want to discourage us from supporting their enemies. The insurgents in Iraq (arguable if they deserve the moniker ‘terrorist’) want us to go away, but don’t care what happens after that. There’s lots of terrorists, and none of them paticularly care about the continental US at this point. Why should they? The point of 9/11 was to provoke the US into a war in the middle east, and we decided to do two of them at once.
Anyway, this is getting way off track. Just understand that just because I’m against the war in Iraq that doesn’t make me un-American or against the troops or whatever. I know you’re for this war, but imagine one that you’re against. You don’t see how it helps our country in any way and the longer we’re there it just keeps getting worse. Would you really want to keep the troops in there, getting shot and blown up for nothing? That’s how I feel about Iraq, and I’m not alone.
Maddman says:
As far as the Roosevelt quote goes, there’s lots of fun quotes from history. Think this one is at all relevent?
“Of course the people don’t want war. But after all, it’s the leaders of the country who determine the policy, and it’s always a simple matter to drag the people along whether its a democracy, fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism, and exposing the country to greater danger.” — Herman Goering
Patriotism is a powerful force, but its done as much evil in the world as good.
Hum? says:
Um…Al Queda is ready to distroy anyone who does not believe the way they do. They want to kill anyone who doesn’t agree with their God. Their God who apparently want’s everyone including their suicide bombers dead. And how is you know so much about Al Queda anyway? Hum…?
Hum? says:
Oh…and one more thing… “you don’t consider al qaeda Terrorists?”
Definition of Al Qaeda from Answers.com:
An international terrorist organization founded in the late 1980s, by Osama bin Laden and Muhammad Atef, al-Qaeda calls for the use of violence and force in bringing about the end of non-Islamic governments and, in particular, a wish to drive the US armed forces out of Saudi Arabia and Somalia. Establishing training camps in areas such as Afghanistan, Pakistan, Kenya and Saudi Arabia, al-Qaeda is responsible for the proliferating of terrorists throughout the world, and providing them with military equipment and financing.
Al-Qaeda has been blamed for many lethal attacks, including the attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001, which resulted in 3,031 deaths, and damage estimated to be in the billions of dollars. They are also said to be responsible for an attack on the US Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya, killing over 200 people.
hotelmotel says:
Thanks, OutlawSteph, for the comments earlier. I’m glad to know some people like reading my posts. I like your posts too and, CMT, if you are reading, thanks for putting up this blog. Its thought provoking and interesting!
Osmond says:
About two years ago, ten mothers who had lost children in Iraq were on a morning show. While I could not feel what these mothers were feeling, their pain seemed almost unbearable. Towards the end of the show, the hostess asked whether they thought we shoud leave Iraq. Just about all said no, because it would bring additional pain if their loved ones had died in vain.
While I could understand their feelings, the question I asked myself then, and have been asking myself since is: How many more have to die, so that the earlier losses not to have been in vain?
mjayhill says:
Mr. Morris, before this thread wandered off into the briars you asked the question, “So where are the pro-war songs now?” I think I can answer that with one word — it starts with M, ends in Y, and rhymes with MONEY.
Now, I’m not saying the “boot in your ass” artists were at all disingenuous with their pro-war anthems. I just think that the timing of their hawkish artistic vision was impeccable while America was frothing at the mouth for another war. Now that the poll numbers have changed, it seems they’re a whole lot more deliberately thoughful all of a sudden. Go figure.
As for the war itself, I think Fred Reed (FredOnEverything) sums it up best: “When I am dictator, I will strap the mothers of the graduating class of Harvard to the front bumpers of Humvees in Baghdad, and see how long support for the war lasts.”
Sounds like a damn good exit strategy to me.
Maddman says:
I never said Al-Queda weren’t terrorists. I said insurgents were arguably not terrorists. I was making the point that you can’t point at ‘the terrorists’ as the enemy, as there’s not a single group. Heck, most of them hate each other more than they hate us.
For clarity, Al-Queda in Iraq are mostly foreign fighters who have come for the opportunity to strike at American troops. Part of the motivation for 9/11 was to provoke the US into invading the middle east, which Bin Laden believed would result in the muslim world rising up, kicking the Westerners out, and allowing him to take over Saudi Arabia. It hasn’t really worked, AIQ is not much of a factor these days.
Insurgents are Iraqis who want the US out of their country. I’m not exactly wanting to give someone who plants a roadside bomb and blows it up when a convoy goes by hugs and cuddles, but it isn’t terrorism either. Going after civilians in an attempt to demoralize them is terrorism. Blowing up enemy troops is war. Just saying there’s a difference between enemy soldiers, even guerilla soldiers, and terrorists.
I’ll also thank CMT for allowing this discussion to go on. I honestly like seeing other points of view and trying to explain my own. A lot of places close down such discussions, because honestly they have a tendency to get ugly. Everyone’s being pretty civil so far. :)
skippy says:
Dear “Hum?,”
As someone who doesn’t believe in either Allah - or Jesus - I think there’s too much in both Christianity and Islam promoting the elimination of non-believers of that particular faith (whether it’s in this life or in the afterlife). Whether one is a jihadist or a Crusader or freedom fighter for another religion - there is too much in religious faith which conflates being “other” with being “damned” or being an “infidel” at the expense of the positive values and life teachings each religion might offer to ALL humans. Religion, which should act as a comfort to the troubled, has acted as a convenient excuse for violent or bullying behavior for far too many people throughout history.
Jarheaddad says:
I rarely post on threads about war, even those as cloaked in deception as this one, but I’ve decided to this time. No one will change their minds, no one will veer even slightly from what they think they know, and no one will accept any premise but their own. That is the void in this Country in a nut shell. No one even seeks to understand and base their beliefs not on real research but on the sound bytes of the day. Even so I’ll give it a shot.
“Whether it’s “The Battle Hymn of the Republic,” “Over There” or lyrical war cries of more recent vintage, there’s something really nasty and deceptive about songs that glorify combat, that hold it up as a bold adventure and a glorious clash between pure good and unalloyed evil.”
The flaw in your basic premise is simply that this entire WoT boils down to exactly what you stated, “A clash between pure good and unalloyed evil”. Have you faced the evil our young men and women face today? On your behalf? Do you have an inkling of what it is we face? I highly doubt it unless you’ve walked the walk. It is an evil that the American psyche simply cannot comprehend. There is nothing to help us understand that kind of evil. This Country was founded on the basic principles of goodness inherent in the Judeo/Christian religions. We believe in the goodness of mankind. Always have. Since our very founding. To face what we are facing takes awhile to wrap your mind around. I could list dozens upon dozens of examples of the behavior of those we fight but I won’t. What’s the point? No one would believe it anyway. They are acts that are quite frankly uncomprehensible to the collective mindset of the protected. Something that cannot be intellectualized. Hell, war cannot be intellectualized. War is a reversion to the base animal instincts of humankind. Period.
In simple terms, this IS a war between good and evil. And unlike the railings and failings on the Left we ARE the good guys. As evidenced every single day by the sacrifices by the men and women wearing the uniform of the United States of America. Another truth is war sucks. Bigtime. Unfortunately the rantings from the Left drown out the Honor of that Sacrifice. By design. Standing in front of cameras calling our troops cold blooded murderers when charges are not even brought is sedition. Look up the definition. Anything for political gain and all’s fair in love and war eh? There SHOULD be a call to arms through music and Country Music has always answered that call. I personally do not apologize for being patriotic. Never will.
You ask where the songs have gone? Easy, underground. There are literally hundreds of songs in places like YouTube, MySpace, at al. They won’t see the light of day for those that do not look for them. Why is that? We, as a country, have once again allowed war to become politicized. We’ve removed all semblence of studying military history in our schools while glorifying the sedition of the 60s. Doomed to repeat the same mistakes through ignorance. I pray that what we face “over there” does not reach our homeland but I have little confidence it won’t. Politics, from both sides of the aisle, and the end-all of everything. Again. Repeating the same mistakes. The way to end war quickly is to show a united front and defeat our enemies. We have lost that ability. Makes a good premise for a Country Song don’t ya’ think?
You see no reason for war songs unless they meet your obvious criteria for the theme. That’s a shame in and of itself. Look at the demographics of just who it is that joins the military and fights our wars. There is a definitive reason there are red states and blue states and that same reason is also why Country Music has always been the music of the common man. Our warfighters are the common man. Go figure!
“Maybe that’s why nobody’s singing about war these days — and why they shouldn’t sing about it so enthusiastically the next time.”
Or better yet, maybe we SHOULD sing about it enthusiastically every single time. Glorify war? Naw but glorify those that sacrifice on your behalf. They are doing something that you can’t, or won’t, do and they volunteer to do so. They are not conscripted and are there of their own free will. To serve something bigger than themselves. Their Country. The absolute definition of patriotism. Something lost upon at least half of this nation. Battlefield Honor is unheard of. There are no songs upholding heroism. Why is that? Who was the last person to be awarded the Silver Star? Navy Cross? Medal of Honor? Do you know? Without Googling? Do you know these heroes stories? Where they come from? What they did? And you find nothing inherently wrong with that?
Herein lies the disconnect. The gap in society. The difference between you and me. Yeah, war sucks, people die and no one hates it more than the ones that have to fight it but quite frankly we have an enemy identification problem. Music is and should be a bridge to that. Country Music in particular. As she has always been in the past. Tell the stories. Honor, Sacrifice, Duty, God, and Country are not just words to those that live them. Those very words are lost on too many. Maybe it IS time for a little ass-kickin’ music! Repulsive as that may be to you.
*sigh* Oh well, just another ignorant opinion from the great unwashed that really needs to be told what to think since we’re too dumb to have a minds of our own. That and a buck sixty-five will get you a cup of coffee!
If nothing else it’s going to be one interesting next few years. Heh!
Hum? says:
Cheers Jarheaddad. Couldn’t agree with you more. In the words of Jeff Foxworthy from the 2007 CMT Awards:(making it shorter but here are some great parts)
“I started thinking about why I like country music and doing this show so much, and here’s what I came up with, y’all…
I like country music because it’s about the things in life that really matter. It ain’t about braggin’ about how you’re gonna mess somebody up, or how somebody ain’t respectin’ ya. It’s about love, family, friends — with a few beers, a cheap woman and a two-timin’ man thrown in for spice. It doesn’t take political sides, even with things as ugly as war. Instead, it celebrates the brave men and women who go to fight ‘em, the price they pay to do it and the longin’ we have for them to return home to the ones that they love.
…Country music doesn’t have to be politically correct. We sing about God because we believe in Him. We are not trying to offend anybody, but the evidence that we have seen of Him in our small little lives trumps your opinion about whether or not He exists.”
Great speech…the whole thing was…you can watch his speech here:
http://www.cmt.com/artists/news/1557360/20070417/foxworthy_jeff.jhtml?rsspartner=rssFeedForAll
Hum? says:
And just kidding…the video link doesn’t work there…so you can read the monologue here:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1821089/posts
Ashley says:
Well people there are men (including my husband currently deployed) and women fighting for your right to be able to even be on here writing so I say more thank you songs are needed. Anyways a quick question…i had cmt on before i left for work and there was a video of a mom saying come tell daddy goodbye to a soldier and at the end they were at his grave site. Didnt get to catch who the artist it was. Does this sound familiar to anybody? Id really like to know what it was.
Mandy says:
Are they really fighting in Iraq for my rights? I don’t think so. Sorry these soldiers are not fighting for freedom of speech.
Emily says:
The most memorable song that has to do with war for me is “Letters from Home”. That song always makes me think about our soldiers in Iraq and how much they are sacrificing for us to live a normal life over here in the United States. In my eyes they are all heros even the ones that have not yet fought in the war because they at least had the guts to sign up.
Ricochet says:
OK everyone who thinks they know everything about war,songs, peoples intentions are retarded and Hotelmotel you should get on a plane and leave the country. I am proud to be an american but it seems you arent so do america a favor and leave. Thanks take care.
Brenda says:
I speak for a group of DC based, Grammy-winning artists who have recorded a collection of new songs for our fighting troops and their families. The songs are based on small town newspaper stories about real soldiers and real military families. Their CD, called “Songs For Our Soldiers,” has received critical acclaim and is now available on iTunes and CDBaby. Copies of the CD have been sent to our troops in Iraq.