This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
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 looked 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 a 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
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 a 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
The only flag that I trust
He said, son, have you seen the world?
Well what would you say, if I said that you could?
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 looked 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 a 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
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 a 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
The only flag that I trust
He said, son, have you seen the world?
Well what would you say, if I said that you could?
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This song is actually amazing if you listen to it a couple of times and really pay attention to the lyrics. Tim basically lets everyone know his, and most likely, the band's stance on the war. He's saying that soldiers aren't nearly as glorified as the media makes them up to be.
I believe he also mixes in that the people were fighting have as much, if not more, pride in their country and our willing to take their flag to their grave as well. Awesome song.
This song is a very poor representation of the wars, sadly, it makes soldiers sound like brutal, horrible people, when really its not all like that. So it may be his stance, but, he really needs to learn more about that war if he thinks that's all that is going on. <br /> Does it come down to kicking in doors and shooting people? Sadly, yes, I don't like to do that, I don't really LIKE to shoot anybody. <br /> There's no way to actually sugar coat this, and I'm not as horrible of a person as this makes me sound, but, war is war, it's sad that it comes to that, no one WANTS it to, sometimes, it just has to. One thing a lot of people (I'm not saying you as I don't know), seem to forget that this is a war like none other. We aren't fighting a uniformed Armed Forces, we are fighting a bunch of cowards who hide in with civilians. We of course have rules to try to help us tell the difference between innocent civilian and insurgent. <br /> I was hoping, you could point out where he is talking about the pride in their country? I'm not knocking you, or saying your wrong, but, if I am missing this, I'd like to know where it is. I'm trying to figure out what exactly he is saying.<br /> Thank you!<br />
I'm a soldier and war is like that. Its sad that war is like that but its like kurigerb said. Kurigerb sounds like a non-infantry leg fag because he says that people aren't brutal over here. I'm a paratrooper and soldiers are pretty vicious. We don't go around massacring people or killing anyone innocent but to say that someone innocent has never died in this war is outrageous. And to say the rules of armed conflict or our ROE is going to help us pick out who is good and bad is stupid.<br /> <br /> And I would like to comment on the taking my flag to the grave concept. I joined the army cause I used to be a patriot. I'm not really one any more. I love the country but I hate what the gov't does to it. So I would still take my flag to the grave but not for my gov't. If I die it'll be because of what the gov't tells me to do but I don't fight for them I fight for Americans who just want to live. I fight for the people, my family and friends.
I am a Soldier. I agree with most of the song but it also makes me angry. Yes there are are few of the "Good Soldiers" that he speaks of throughout the military, but I think that they are thugs with a weapon and have no conscious. 98% of the military is not like this no matter what the Liberals and extremist organizations want you to believe. I do not agree with the politics of this war but I do believe in my fellow Soldiers. As long as they are putting their lives on the line day in and day out please show them the respect they deserve. I never have and never will leave a fallen comrade. If you don't want to support this war, please support my Brothers and Sisters in Arms.
To the soldiers who commented on this, I respectively believe you're taking offense to something that you SHOULD find profoundly representative of a soldier's unpleasant duties and humanity.<br /> Stories like this, about soldier beating their enemies or shooting innocent people ARE real and ARE popular because of how incredibly sad they are. They aren't meant to degrade soldiers. I think it's quite the opposite. To me, the band is trying to show that even the best of soldiers sometimes kills innocent people out of fear (which is justifiable, but sad) and that some may beat their enemies out of pent-up anger and grief over the terrible things that have happened to them and that they have seen. This doesn't mean soldiers themselve are bad, simply that they are HUMAN, and that WAR makes people do horrible things. This isn't a song against soldiers, but rather war, and the way regular Americans glorify it and treat soldiers as though they're heroes when in reality, many soldiers don't FEEL like heroes after watching their friends die and doing dishonorable things or killing innocents to survive. War is not PRETTY or POETIC. War is tragic.<br /> The song intends to show regular people that being a soldier is not glorious or FUN but rather painful, terrifying, and difficult. That isn't to say soldiers are bad or weak, or anything. Only to caution people that war is never a good thing for anyone.
I love this song, but the lyrics make me very angry. I'm not a soldier, but I still have a strong opinion on this. This song doesn't represent the horrors that the soldiers go through. It doesn't explain that the man that they took from his family and friends was probably involved in the killing of US soldiers or innocent civilians. It's not like they just barge in and beat random innocent people. I'm not justifying the beatdown, but they want us to sympathize with the guy that gets abducted and not the soldiers who are pushed to that point. And the lady who is trying to surrender...they don't explain that there are plenty of times when that lady has a bomb strapped to her and if they don't shot her Soldiers lives are in danger. <br /> <br /> And we glorify soldiers because they are brave enough to be doing what they're doing over there. It takes a lot of courage. Without them fighting for us, we wouldn't be here and Rise Against would have never been able to make this song in the first place. I understand being anti-war, but do they really have to take shots at the soldiers. They're doing what they're commanded too.
See,you guys in a way got it all wrong. If you've followed Rise Against at all you'd know that they are fighting for the way our troops get treated- they're against war and all that goes along with it. What this song is depicting is not exactly the war itself but the fact that when our soldiers come home, we treat them as if they are heros and that they're amazing and have done so much for our country- of which they have- but what our country neglects is all the things the soldier has to deal with- all the horror that he/she has seen- all the "bad" that he/she was forced to do. Regardless if you're killing a "bad" person or innocent person- still not human nature to kill and can't be something that easy to deal with- what Rise Against is saying in this song is that we neglect our "Heros". These men and women fall by the way side with us treating them as Heros, and not the damaged person they may be. Not that it happens to every soldier, not that it happens in every war- this song is just a snap shot in time. Anyone that pays mind the the world around us will see that the men and womem come home and have almost as much trauma to deal with as they did while fighting. I was able to find a brief summary that Rise Against posted in response to the video release of this song. I hope some of you find it helpful in understanding this song. <br /> <br /> From RA:<br /> "Hero Of War" is the story of one soldier, not all soldiers, as he battles not just the war around him, but the war that rages within. Inspired by true events, we were given the choice to either document the tribulations of these times as they unfold around us, or ignore them. To ignore these problems, in our opinion, is letting down the brave men and women who risk everything. <br /> <br /> "Hero Of War" is our attempt to lift the stigma that surrounds everything from the skyrocketing suicide rate of troops, torture, internal sexual abuse, an under-funded VA, and the growing number of military personnel fighting Post Traumatic Stress Disorder as they return home. We hope this song and this video help the simmering dialogue about these problems evolve into a rolling boil. <br /> <br /> <br />
This song is not about how soldiers arn't as glorified as they seem, Far from it. It is About how the United States makes the Military out to look like you go to war, kill people, win the war and come home to a bunch people that are "damn Proud" of you. But what is never reviled to soldiers or the civilians is that war is not a pretty thing. Here in the U.S. we make it sound like fighting for your country is the most glorious way one can represent the U.S. and i have the upmost respect for those who have given their lives for this country but what this song is saying is that once the man or women becomes the soldier and see and realizes what war is really about they no longer have interest in being seen as a hero but just as a normal human being again. "Just Medals and Scars, is that all they see" is a line relaying that message. After someone comes home from war and has seen and participated in horrible things that many people will never be apart of they want nothing more but to forget those things. Thats why when soldiers come home they dont want to talk about if they killed anyone else in combat because it is a horrible thing. This song is not degrading to soldiers but opens up the minds of people and makes then realize that maybe "Hero's of War" dont want to be "Hero's of war" anymore, they just want to be "normal" again, if there is such a thing in todays world.
No, its saying that soldiers who are coming home are being praised for something they aren't to proud of.
I am a soldier, currently on my second deployment in Afghanistan, and I love this song, but I think that many people are missing part of, or the whole point of this song. Many of us joined because we are or were patriots, and wanted to be heroes, only after joining we find out that a hero is nothing more than the rhetoric our leaders throw at use to gain support for their wars. That’s not to say that there are no acts of heroism over hear, but not everyone is a hero. Many of us will go home feeling the opposite of a hero and will carry the scars of the horrible things required of war. For anyone who has taken a life, justified or not, it leaves its mark, and it is easy to bury part of ones humanity to cope with war.<br /> <br /> That being said, I would never beat or torture a prisoner, but I can certainly understand how a soldier can get carried away and do horrible things, especially those who have lost friends. I have heard from many, “just kill them all and let God sort them out,” and in my younger years I have even shared the sentiment, but most of the people over hear are really great people and I can call a few friends. The problem is; you never know if your friend will walk in the next day with a bomb on his chest. Your guard can never be lowered, and that takes a toll on a person. The vehicle next to your convoy could blow up; the kid you buy dvd’s from could have a grenade, ect. Even the constant lack of sleep from rocket/mortar attacks or small arms fire are as the saying goes, is enough to make you “want to kill someone.” The soldier in this song made the right call to shoot the girl ignoring his commands. I would have done the same thing, and felt equally bad afterward, but he couldn’t have known what she was carrying.<br /> <br /> The flag she was carrying “white as snow,” I take for the white flag of Peace or Surrender, in this case a flag representing peace is the only flag that he trusts.<br /> <br /> I can understand how he could lose faith in the red/white/blue, but it is our leaders I am disillusioned with, not our country. We are still among the greatest countries on earth, and I take my oath seriously to defend against all enemies foreign and domestic. Right now we have too many self-serving politicians (enemies) in our political system subverting domestic interests, and more than ever we need patriots to stand up for what is right and use all legal avenues to change the system.<br />