I watched and listened to this stirring video on Democracy Now of a song by an American soldier who describes his horrific loss of innocence and idealism in Iraq. Unfortunately, none of the versions of this video are still “available” on youtube. Censorship?
Here it is, the stirring finale to Amy Goodman’s memorable Memorial Day special. This song has been viewed, she says, thirteen million times — so far.
Hero of War — Rise Against Song
Hero Of War lyrics
Songwriters: Barnes, Brandon; Chasse, Christopher; Mcilrath, Timothy; Principe, Joseph Daniel;
He said, “Son, have you seen the world?
Well, what would you say if I said that you could?
Just carry this gun, you’ll even get paid”
I said, “That sounds pretty good”
Black leather boots, spit shined so bright
They cut off my hair but it looks alright
We marched and we sang
We all became friends as we learned how to fight
A hero of war, yeah that’s what I’ll be
And when I come home they’ll be damn proud of me
I’ll carry this flag to the grave if I must
‘Cause it’s flag that I love and a flag that I trust
I kicked in the door, I yelled my commands
The children they cried but I got my man
We took him away, a bag over his face
From his family and his friends
They took off his clothes, they pissed in his hands
I told them to stop but then I joined in
[ From: http://www.elyrics.net/read/r/rise-against-lyrics/hero-of-war-lyrics.html ]
We beat him with guns and batons
Not just once but again and again
A hero of war, yeah that’s what I’ll be
And when I come home they’ll be damn proud of me
I’ll carry this flag to the grave if I must
‘Cause it’s flag that I love and a flag that I trust
She walked through bullets and haze
I asked her to stop, I begged her to stay
But she pressed on
So I lifted my gun and I fired away
And the shells jumped through the smoke
And into the sand that the blood now had soaked
She collapsed with a flag in her hand
A flag white as snow
A hero of war is that what they see
Just medals and scars, so damn proud of me
And I brought home that flag, now it gathers dust
But it’s a flag that I love, it’s the only flag I trust
He said, “Son, have you seen the world?
Well, what would you say if I said that you could?”
