Country Music's Delusional Response to War Continues

[Hissyspit]

In case you haven't heard Trace Adkins new song, here are the lyrics - simplistic, naive, idealized, almost infantile. Called "Arlington," it is from an album titled "Songs About Me." Trace Adkins is not, I repeat, not serving currently in Iraq. I dread coming across the video.

Artist : Trace Adkins
Title : Arlington

I never thought that this is where I'd settle down.
I thought I'd die an old man back in my hometown.
They gave me this plot of land,
Me and some other men, for a job well done.

There's a big white house sits on a hill just up the road.
The man inside, he cried the day they brought me home.
They folded up a flag and told my Mom and Dad:
"We're proud of your son."

And I'm proud to be on this peaceful piece of property.
I'm on sacred ground and I'm in the best of company.
I'm thankful for those thankful for the things I've done.
I can rest in peace;
one of the chosen ones:
I made it to Arlington.

I remember Daddy brought me here when I was eight.
We searched all day to find out where my grand-dad lay.
And when we finally found that cross,
He said: "Son, this is what it cost to keep us free."

Now here I am, a thousand stones away from him.
He recognized me on the first day I came in.
And it gave me a chill when he clicked his heels,
And saluted me.

And I'm proud to be on this peaceful piece of property.
I'm on sacred ground and I'm in the best of company.
I'm thankful for those thankful for the things I've done.
I can rest in peace;
I'm one of the chosen ones:
I made it to Arlington.

And everytime I hear twenty-one guns,
I know they brought another hero home to us.

And I'm proud to be on this peaceful piece of property.
I'm on sacred ground and I'm in the best of company.
We're thankful for those thankful for the things we've done.
We can rest in peace;
'Cause we are the chosen ones:
We made it to Arlington.

Yeah, dust to dust,
Don't cry for us:
We made it to Arlington.

[wtmusic]

1. If you don't have the guts to serve, buy a Hummer and write a song

about it. :eyes:

[Porcupine]

2. Paying the price for their pickups, SUVs and big-ass busses

Take a trip to Arlington boys; make papa Cheney and Haliburton happy.

[FreedomAngel82]

3. When did Bush ever cry?

[madeline_con]

I think it was right after 9/11 when he finally got back to the office

he cried a little to show his "compassion".

He was in the Oval Office, making a call to Halliburton with the go ahead.

[awoke_in_2003]

40. When did Bush ever cry?

He is probably crying now, shivering in the corner and wetting his pants thinking of that scary woman Cindy that just won't go away and let him play on his rocking horse

[nadinbrzezinski]

4. DISGUSTING

and we listen to some country music

So when is he joining? Hell I'll settle for some USO tours to IRAQ in the middle of summer...

(the troops can use the entertainment, but they are too chicken to even do that)

[FreedomAngel82]

25. Probably

At least that guy who did the song "Have You Forgotten?" has gone over to Iraq. He toured with Al Franken and Franken has talked about him some. There's some country music that's really great and I enjoy but then there's some nonsense like this. I recommend Faith Hill, Tim McGraw, Dixie Chicks and Willie Nelson. ;) I also love Alison Krauss and Martina McBride and Wynonna Judd even though I don't know what political parties the last three belong to but the first four I know are all outspoken against Bush. Faith, Tim and Willie I know are democrats. Don't know about the Dixie Chicks. :shrug: I know of Natalie's comments and they did a "Rock the Vote" tour or something like that last year on Sundance Channel which was great!

[nadinbrzezinski]

28. I discovered the Dixie chicks because of their comments

they are good kids

[nosmokes]

5. it's a moving sentiment - too bad it's been shit on

by bushole and his GOPosse of corporate hooligans in this illegal war for oil and empire.

[madeline_con]

6. American martyrdom?

"Songs About Me." It's all about Trace. :eyes:

"I'm thankful for those thankful for the things I've done."

This immediately reminded me of John Cougar melon, uh ... Cougar's lyrics:

"I cannot forget from where it is that I come from..."

[Scurrilous]

7. I dare him to go to Iraq...

...and play this crap.

'Chosen ones' my ass.

[beam me up scottie]

8. Proud?

Fucker.

Thinks my brother should be happy if he ends up in Arlington?

If he really believes this, why is he not in Iraq?

I'm basically a non-violent person but I doubt I'd mind if this
piss-poor, cowardly excuse for a human was drafted and came back in a coffin.

Or if he got hit by a Hummer driven by a repuke soccer mom tomorrow in Nashville and was dragged 5 miles down a dirt road before she got off her cell phone and realized it.

Now I'm going to have to listen to the morans at work get all choked up over this sappy drivel.

:mad:

[madeline_con]

9. "... a Hummer driven by a repuke soccer mom ..."

:rofl:

[beam me up scottie]

11. I live a half hour from Nashville.

Almost all of them are driven by pampered soccer moms.
If I had the guts, I'd ELF the damn things.
I think about it often enough...

[madeline_con]

18. My brother recently bought a house in Franklin...

and his s#it no longer stinks! It's amazing.

[beam me up scottie]

29. I hate this area of the country.

Atheistic, vegetarian, country music hating, progressive liberals don't do well here.
The only thing that I have going for me (according to the locals) is that I'm not a lesbian.
That may be why the villagers with the torches haven't shown up and burnt me on a cross.

[madeline_con]

32. "I'm not a lesbian ..."

Gee, a plus for your side of the scoreboard. :eyes:

It's really Biblical up there.

[beam me up scottie]

38. I actually live in a "dry" county.

They tried to pass an ordinance allowing restaurants that serve over 100 people to serve alcohol and, man, did that ever light a fire under the fundy's butts.

I saved the barrage of LTTE because I knew my family wouldn't believe how regressive it is here.

At least there are liberals in Nashville.
Brave ones too, very vocal.

[Spider Jerusalem]

10. The best response to that is this:

A couple of poems...

Wilfred Owen

Dulce Et Decorum Est

Bent double, like old beggars under sacks,
Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge,
Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs
And towards our distant rest began to trudge.
Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots
But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind;
Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots
Of disappointed shells that dropped behind.

GAS! Gas! Quick, boys!-- An ecstasy of fumbling,
Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time;
But someone still was yelling out and stumbling
And floundering like a man in fire or lime.--
Dim, through the misty panes and thick green light
As under a green sea, I saw him drowning.

In all my dreams, before my helpless sight,
He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.

If in some smothering dreams you too could pace
Behind the wagon that we flung him in,
And watch the white eyes writhing in his face,
His hanging face, like a devil's sick of sin;
If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood
Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs,
Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud
Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,--
My friend, you would not tell with such high zest
To children ardent for some desperate glory,
The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est
Pro patria mori.

_______________________________________________________

And Ezra Pound, from "Hugh Selwyn Mauberley: Life and Contacts";

IV.
These fought, in any case,
and some believing, pro domo, in any case. . .

Some quick to arm,
some for adventure,
some from fear of weakness,
some from fear of censure,
some for love of slaughter, in imagination,
learning later...

some in fear, learning love of slaughter;
Died some, pro patria,
non "dulce" non "et decor". . .

walked eye-deep in hell
believing in old men's lies,then unbelieving
came home, home to a lie,
home to many deceits,
home to old lies and new infamy;

usury age-old and age-thick
and liars in public places.

Daring as never before, wastage as never before.
Young blood and high blood,
fair cheeks, and fine bodies;

fortitude as never before

frankness as never before,
disillusions as never told in the old days
hysterias, trench confessions
laughter out of dead bellies.

V.

There died a myriad,
And of the best, among them,
For an old bitch gone in the teeth,
For a botched civilization,

Charm, smiling at the good mouth,
quick eyes gone under earth's lid,

For two gross of broken statues,
For a few thousand battered books.

Edit: for those not familiar with Latin, "dulce et decorum est pro patria mori" means "sweet and fitting it is to die for one's country".

[beam me up scottie]

13. Thank you.

I have the first but never read the second.

[Spider Jerusalem]

15. You're welcome...

it's one of my favourites; I think Pound pretty well nailed it, and it's timely eighty years on...some things never seem to change.

[beam me up scottie]

16. It really hits home for this vet

who swore to never do the bidding of a government again.
I only wish my brothers had done the same.

[Cats Against Frist]

12. This is the kind of stuff that makes my butt burn

Not only is it bad art, it's "jingo art," and meant to appeal to sentimentality and irrationality. :puke:

[beam me up scottie]

14. No kidding.

Can't wait to see the stupid redneck women having orgasms in Walmart watching the video in the electronics department.

[Swamp Rat]

20. Aaarrrggghhh!!!!

:puke:

[beam me up scottie]

24. That's exactly what they look like.

Regardless of which pretty boy country singer it is.
Stupid cows don't even know they're being played.
I have a co-worker that actually thinks these dolts write their own music and that it comes from the heart.

[Swamp Rat]

27. Tell your co-worker that Wal-Mart has a lobotomy sale this Sunday.

:hi: :hug:

[beam me up scottie]

31. Oh nooooooooooo!!!

You've ruined one of my favourite childhood toys!

Maybe you could do something with Mr. Bill...

Thanks for the sentiment. :hug:
They took advantage of the buy one, get one free introductory lobotomy special.

[Swamp Rat]

33. Here ya go:

:D

This one came first. I made the one above to accompany the first:

[beam me up scottie]

34. I LOVE it!

Thanks, friend!:toast:

[firefox]

17. Peace movement is lacking in music

There has not been a big breakout of a song for the peace movement. Maybe the media has something to do with restraining the air time and thus the production of such songs.

This is the first time I have put the final form of these words up. I wish somebody could carry this to fruition and let it be freely available to people doing videos. I wrote these to get the ball rolling and give people something to add to or improve upon. I did feel that "Yellow Rose of Texas" had a very moving sound, was made appropriate by Cindy in Texas, and was very well known and easy to sing to.

Here are some words that can be fitted into the song "Yellow Rose in Texas." This link will play the music automatically and can be played in a seperate window- http://www.niehs.nih.gov/kids/lyrics/yellowrose.htm

Yellow roses grow in Texas, far more than you can see,
A wrong calling for righting, is how this came to be.
We put them on the roadsides and we said in spirit we are here,
Take your war and shove it, is the only thing that's clear.

There's hard work to do in Texas, with a ditch to take a stand.
The heat is hot as blazes, the rain is not so grand.
You may have your bliss and comforts while you watch your big tv,
But truth and a change of course are the only things for me.

They did not ask for welcome or take invite to leave.
The times had called for action, must say what they believed.
They said to kill the fantasies and give all the lies a rest,
We came to tell a noble cause, we want the path that's best.

There's hard work to do in Texas, with a ditch to take a stand.
The heat is hot as blazes, the rain is not so grand.
You may have your bliss and comforts while you watch your big tv,
But truth and a change of course are the only things for me.

Power gave them silence, refused to give a bone.
Lies were tooled to bless the war, and drive true patriots home.
Camp Casey is a mobile place, exist in hearts of men,
The yellow rose we carry here carries on from then.

There's hard work to do in Texas, with a ditch to take a stand.
The heat is hot as blazes, the rain is not so grand.
You may have your bliss and comforts while you watch your big tv,
But truth and a change of course are the only things for me.



DoYouEverWonder did some very tasteful tee-shirts to donate to Cindy and they should get there on Tuesday. The image comes from her thread at http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=4327532

[nadinbrzezinski]

26. We don't because it does exist

on alternate channels on the web, but not on the radio... they control the radio

[Hissyspit]

39. I saw a video of "Knocking On Heaven's Door" by Avril Lavigne

with footage of soldiers and civilians and death in Iraq. Better than nothing.

[hippywife]

44. The peace movement is not lacking in music

they are just not getting the airplay these sappy, nationalistic songs are getting. It's not for lack of production, either. They are being written, performed and recorded just not played to the wider audience by the Clear Channel controlled radio stations.

[MisterP]

19. pine boxes are fun!

and it's five, six, seven, open up the pearly gates...

[MnFats]

21. 'shovel them under and let me work...."

This Carl Sandburg poem is more appropriate..




Pile the bodies high at Austerlitz and Waterloo.
Shovel them under and let me work--
I am the grass; I cover all.


And pile them high at Gettysburg
And pile them high at Ypres and Verdun.
Shovel them under and let me work.
Two years, ten years, and the passengers ask the conductor:
What place is this?
Where are we now?


I am the grass.
Let me work.

[mcctatas]

22. I much prefer this "country song"

May not be a real country band, but hell, Country is right in their name.
Country Joe and the Fish
I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-To-Die
(Joe McDonald)

Yeah, come on all of you, big strong men,
Uncle Sam needs your help again.
He's got himself in a terrible jam
Way down yonder in Vietnam
So put down your books and pick up a gun,
We're gonna have a whole lotta fun.

And it's one, two, three,
What are we fighting for ?
Don't ask me, I don't give a damn,
Next stop is Vietnam;
And it's five, six, seven,
Open up the pearly gates,
Well there ain't no time to wonder why,
Whoopee! we're all gonna die.

Well, come on generals, let's move fast;
Your big chance has come at last.
Gotta go out and get those reds
The only good commie is the one who's dead
And you know that peace can only be won
When we've blown 'em all to kingdom come.

And it's one, two, three,
What are we fighting for ?
Don't ask me, I don't give a damn,
Next stop is Vietnam;
And it's five, six, seven,
Open up the pearly gates,
Well there ain't no time to wonder why
Whoopee! we're all gonna die.

Huh!

Well, come on Wall Street, don't move slow,
Why man, this is war au-go-go.
There's plenty good money to be made
By supplying the Army with the tools of the trade,
Just hope and pray that if they drop the bomb,
They drop it on the Viet Cong.

And it's one, two, three,
What are we fighting for ?
Don't ask me, I don't give a damn,
Next stop is Vietnam.
And it's five, six, seven,
Open up the pearly gates,
Well there ain't no time to wonder why
Whoopee! we're all gonna die.

Well, come on mothers throughout the land,
Pack your boys off to Vietnam.
Come on fathers, don't hesitate,
Send 'em off before it's too late.
Be the first one on your block
To have your boy come home in a box.

And it's one, two, three
What are we fighting for ?
Don't ask me, I don't give a damn,
Next stop is Vietnam.
And it's five, six, seven,
Open up the pearly gates,
Well there ain't no time to wonder why,
Whoopee! we're all gonna die.

[girl gone mad]

23. Trying to profit off of the deaths of soldiers.

How despicable.

[warrens]

30. why isn't the cocksucker in Iraq?

He have strummers thumb or something, the hypocritical asswipe?

[patrioticliberal]

36. I think he almost lost his thumb in some accident

Not sure
But he is probably too old to join anyway I guess

[progressivebydesign]

48. He's not to old to join.. they upped the age and he's a young man..

.. I mean, a young coward. Anyone who sings about what an honor it is to be killed in this war deserves to be on the front lines. Perhaps he needs to meet the families left behind by those killed so far...

I really hate corporate fucking music.

[DanCa]

35. We got the Springsteen on our side do we really need anyone else?

[patrioticliberal]

37. yeah we do

[John Q. Citizen]

41. It's like Soilent Green out there, folks. It's almost satire.

What's so great about Arlington? I'd rather die an old man in my home town any day. Or an old man somewhere for sure. Maybe die an old man caretaking the graves at Arlington.

All those ophaned kids and families for mostly a lot of crap.

[beam me up scottie]

42. What if they had a war

and nobody came?

[wli]

43. contrast to Dixie Chicks

[lildreamer316]

45. Why won't anyone give Eminem credit for that song?

Mosh

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America
And to the Republic for which it stands
One nation under God
Indivisible·
It feels so good to be back

< Verse 1 >

Scrutinize every word, memorize every line
I spit it once, refuel, reenergize, and rewind
I give sight to the blind, mind sight through the mind
I excersize my right to express when I feel it's time
It's just all in your mind, what you interpret it as
I say to fight you take it as I? gonna whip someone's ass
If you don't understand don't even bother to ask
A father who has grown up with a fatherless past
Who has blown up now to rap phenomenon that has
Or at least shows no difficulty multi task
And juggling both, perhaps mastered his craft slash
Entrepreneur who has held long too few more rap acts
Who has had a few obstacles thrown his way through the last half
Of his career typical manure moving past that
Mister kiss his ass crack, he's a class act
Rubber band man, yea he just snaps back

< Chorus >

Come along, follow me as I lead through the darkness
As I provide just enough spark, that we need to proceed
Carry on, give me hope, give me strength,
Come with me, and I won't stear you wrong
Put your faith and your trust as I guide us through the fog
Till the light, at the end, of the tunnel, we gonna fight,
We gonna charge, we gonna stomp, we gonna march through the swamp
We gonna mosh through the marsh, take us right through the doors

< Verse 2 >

To the people up top, on the side and the middle,
Come together, let's all bomb and swamp just a little
Just let it gradually build, from the front to the back
All you can see is a sea of people, some white and some black
Don't matter what color, all that matters is we gathered together
To celebrate for the same cause, no matter the weather
If it rains let it rain, yea the wetter the better
They ain't gonna stop us, they can't, we're stronger now more then ever,
They tell us no we say yea, they tell us stop we say go,
Rebel with a rebel yell, raise hell we gonna let em know
Stomp, push up, mush, fuck Bush, until they bring our troops home come on just . . .

< Chorus >

< Verse 3 >

Imagine it pouring, it's raining down on us,
Mosh pits outside the oval office
Someone's trying to tell us something, maybe this is God just saying
we're responsible for this monster, this coward, that we have empowered
This is Bin Laden, look at his head nodding,
How could we allow something like this, Without pumping our fist
Now this is our, final hour
Let me be the voice, and your strength, and your choice
Let me simplify the rhyme, just to amplify the noise
Try to amplify the times it, and multiply it by six
Teen million people are equal of this high pitch
Maybe we can reach Al Quaida through my speech
Let the President answer on high anarchy
Strap him with AK-47, let him go
Fight his own war, let him impress daddy that way
No more blood for oil, we got our own battles to fight on our soil
No more psychological warfare to trick us to think that we ain't loyal
If we don't serve our own country we're patronizing a hero
Look in his eyes, it's all lies, the stars and stripes
They've been swiped, washed out and wiped,
And Replaced with his own face, mosh now or die
If I get sniped tonight you'll know why, because I told you to fight

< Chorus >

< Outro >

And as we proceed, to mosh through this desert storm, in these closing statements, if they should argue, let us beg to differ, as we set aside our differences, and assemble our own army, to disarm this weapon of mass destruction that we call our president, for the present, and mosh for the future of our next generation, to speak and be heard, Mr. President, Mr. Senator

[wli]

53. eminem's fine and all, but the Dixie Chicks and this thread were about C&W

[dbt]

46. This song's essence: "I'm glad I'm dead." WTF?

Gnashville is as big a brainwash as the "news" media. Prolly bigger.

[Hissyspit]

47. self-kick for the Sunday crowd

[proud2BlibKansan]

49. This is wrong on so many levels

I don't even know where to start.

He is glorifying death.

He is glorifying dying in an unjust war.

We are supposed to be thankful for this?? (Tell that to Cindy Sheehan)

The whole 21 gun salute thing has always bothered me. Why do we fire guns to honor our soldiers killed by guns?

And he was chosen - for what?

[Pepperbelly]

50. Arlington doesn't use crosses ...

I guess it's poetic license.

[Danmel]

52. No- it's just another "if you're not Christian, you're not American" messa

After all, only good Christians give their lives for America, right?
Stupid fuck's probably never been to Arlington.

[YellowRubberDuckie]

51. Why does that song have to be about an Iraqi vet who died in THIS war?

Couldn't it be about a vet from Vietnam or WWII? I've heard the song and it made me cry. Because I wasn't thinking about Bush, because I know that Bush never cried for any of the war dead. I was thinking about those guys from Vietnam, WWII and the ones before, and the Presidents they served under. I was thinking about Kennedy, and I was thinking about Roosevelt. And what about the guys who died in Somalia when Clinton was in office? Those guys that died in vain for Vietnam or for the guys who fought WWII that died a hero's death. Don't be so negative and think the worst about EVERYONE who is the least bit patriotic. Because I am here to tell you that I am a liberal and I still get a little choked up when I hear our national anthem. Mainly because of how many people died in vain for the freedom in this country that Bush is so eager to take away.
That's the great thing about music. Even if the song writer didn't intend for it to be what you thin, if it's not specific, you can make it what you want to be.
In my opinion, if you think about it the way I do, it's a beautiful song.
Duckie