| The Lumineers – Charlie Boy Lyrics | 12 years ago |
| This is an incredibly beautiful song, and these lyrics are so full of empathy, wisdom, and humanity. Thanks jrhmasters and schultzee for your insights on the details that inspired it. I was wondering how this young artist could have had such a personal connection to the Vietnam War. He sounds like Bruce Springsteen or Woody Guthrie, with all of their social and political awareness, even though he is a generation removed from Vietnam. It is profound the way he describes the family divisions opened up by that war - years later it would tear up my stepmother's family over the draft. But the soldier mourned here was a volunteer, likely an early casualty. Kennedy's promise to pay any price for liberty was indeed costly. It ended badly, discredited, in Vietnam. But Charlie offered his service - and his great sacrifice - in earnest. The song makes my heart swell; there is no condemnation, only understanding for all sides. It makes the loss palpable, and it is full of love and big-hearted patriotism. | |
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