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1. ‘Oliver’s Army‘ by Elvis Costello & The Attractions:
This track from the 1979 record ‘Armed Forces’ which consists of songs is thought to refer to Oliver Cromwell’s army of mercenaries. Of the song’s meaning, Costello himself has stated:
“I made my first trip to Belfast in 1978 and saw mere boys walking around in battle dress with automatic weapons. They were no longer just on the evening news. These snapshot experiences exploded into visions of mercenaries and imperial armies around the world. The song was based on the premise ‘they always get a working class boy to do the killing’. I don’t know who said that; maybe it was me, but it seems to be true nonetheless. I pretty much had the song sketched out on the plane back to London.”
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2. ‘Land Locked Blues‘ by Bright Eyes:
Conor Oberst has been known to make his political views apparent. In fact, during a 2004 appearance on the Late Show he dedicated his performance to the (then) President and the Governor of California saying they were two men he admired for their ‘biceps and their creepy, fascist agendas’. He then goes on to shout ‘M. Ward for President!’ during the refrain. Just quietly, as much as I like M. Ward I think Obama is probably slightly better qualified.
In a similar spirit, this song makes no attempt to couch it’s clearly anti-war sentiments.
“We made love on the living room floor
With the noise in the background of a televised war
And in the deafening pleasure I thought I heard someone say
‘If we walk away, they’ll walk away’
But greed is a bottomless pit
And our freedom’s a joke
We’re just taking a piss
And the whole world must watch the sad comic display
If you’re still free start running away
Cause we’re coming for you!”
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3. ‘I Saw Her in the Anti-War Demonstration‘ by Jens Lekman:
This song is far more light-hearted than the first two. Basically, it tells the story of a boy who meets a punk girl at an anti-war demonstration and proceeds to fall in love with her. I like the song because it has fun lyrics and beautiful string arrangements. The link to the live performance of this is worth checking out even if it only to witness Jens’ sombrero and some excellent standing-up-drumming. That’s about it really.
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4. ‘It’s a Hit’ by Rilo Kiley:
This song (from the 2004 release ‘More Adventurous‘) delivers a scathing hit to George W.
“Any chimp can play human for a day.
Use his opposable thumbs to iron his uniform
and run for office on election day
fancy himself a real decision maker
and deploy more troops than salt in a shaker.
But it’s a jungle when war is made,
and you’ll panic and throw your own shit at the enemy.
The camera pulls back to reveal your true identity.
Look, it’s a sheep in wolf’s clothing.
A smoking gun holding ape.”
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5. ‘Weaker Soldier‘ by Bonnie “Prince” Billy:
To be honest, when you read the lyrics in isolation from the music they sound a little wanky and contrived. That is why you should watch the video. The live performance is brillo although I must admit that the way his beard flops as he sings can be a little distracting.
“I once was a weaker soldier hanging in the war
But I left, like an ape, folded neatly in four
And silently played for a moment slow and bled
On a sandalwood bust I had
Where was the field where I had pressed another down
Where I had revealed myself by crying and shouting ?
I turned away from that and into this black kettle of one-ness”
