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,
Few of the sins of the father, are visited upon the son
Hearts have been hard, our hands have been clenched in a fist too long
Our sons will never be soldiers, our daughters will never need guns
These are the yrs between
These are the yrs that were hard fought and won
Contracts torn at the edges, old signatures stained with tears
Seasons of war and peace, these should not be forgotten yaers
Still it aches like tetanus, it reeks of politics
How many dreams remain? This is a feeling too strong to contain
The hardest years, the darkest yrs, the roarin' yrs, the fallen yrs
These should not be forgotten yrs
The hardest yrs, the wildest yrs, the desperate and divided yrs
We will remember, these should not be forgotten yrs
Our shoreline was never invaded, our country was never in flames
This is the calm we breathe, this is a feeling too strong to contain
Still it aches like tetanus, it reeks of politics
Signatures stained with tears, who can remember
We've got to remember
The hardest...
Forsaking aching breaking yrs, the time and tested heartbreak yrs
These should not be forgotten yrs
The blinded yrs, the binded yrs, the desperate and divided yrs
These should not be forgotten yrs, remember
Hearts have been hard, our hands have been clenched in a fist too long
Our sons will never be soldiers, our daughters will never need guns
These are the yrs between
These are the yrs that were hard fought and won
Contracts torn at the edges, old signatures stained with tears
Seasons of war and peace, these should not be forgotten yaers
Still it aches like tetanus, it reeks of politics
How many dreams remain? This is a feeling too strong to contain
The hardest years, the darkest yrs, the roarin' yrs, the fallen yrs
These should not be forgotten yrs
The hardest yrs, the wildest yrs, the desperate and divided yrs
We will remember, these should not be forgotten yrs
Our shoreline was never invaded, our country was never in flames
This is the calm we breathe, this is a feeling too strong to contain
Still it aches like tetanus, it reeks of politics
Signatures stained with tears, who can remember
We've got to remember
The hardest...
Forsaking aching breaking yrs, the time and tested heartbreak yrs
These should not be forgotten yrs
The blinded yrs, the binded yrs, the desperate and divided yrs
These should not be forgotten yrs, remember
Lyrics submitted by Chris_Gough
Forgotten Years Lyrics as written by Martin Rotsey James Moginie
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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I think the main focus of this song (athough it may be about multiple themes) is that we should not forget the soldiers who fought in past wars, in particular the Australian and New Zealand ANZAC forces from WW1. Great video clip.
Having just listened to Blue Sky Mining & absorbing it quickly the following are fairly obvious, to me. I am the only one who views it just so. Like each prior post. Great comments & stories. The song does what it sets out to do. I love the imagery Mr Garret conjures out of his experience. Which just so happens to be all of our experience. Human activity is relatable, who knew?
I echo the paternal relationship with Great Britain. I have often remarked the same about the States. You don't need a masters degree to climb on board. There are no apologies & why would there be? These years were hard fought & won. Yes soldiers from Australia & New Zealand were tossed into the fray. This whole topic makes me ponder how many conflicts/ wars/ terrorist attacks never existed. Fighting in the Vietnam War proved two things: The enemy realizes the length you'll go to protect your interests & where would you prefer to fight? Over there or over here?
I love the symmetry. Has Australia or America ever been invaded? I don't count the 1812 drubbing but we not only survived we went on to surpass the father. War hero turns president model was strong but waning in these modern days. A sad day when a kid can beat dad at whatever. Yet we are all still on the same side. A terrible & awesome power our country's leaders weild. How devoid life would seem without other people to remind us that the best time . . is now. = )
@mats_fan_710 - Thanks for your comment.<br /> <br /> I just saw the Oils in NYC on Father's Day 2022. They closed the show (before the encore) with this song. I was a bit disappointed to realize half or more of the attendees did not feel the poignant depth of this song. These peaceful times are not only the times to enjoy, but the times to painfully reflect on if we're doing a sufficiently good job of not ending up again in the memorable times of war and 24/7 news coverage of "shock and awe". Great song with great, wondrous, painful recognition of the realities of peace and how we appreciate it (or don't). This might be the end of the "best time" to which you refer, and so these must not become Forgotten Years.<br /> <br /> One thing so obvious still puzzles me. When you learn about ancient history, you typically learn more about wars that start and end empires rather than any evidence of how populations were faring in terms of happiness or at least economic well-being. For example, few people could even make a decent guess at the first civilization. One example is Agade. What normal citizen recognizes that name? How much effort has gone into studying civilizations outside of war vs just the efforts gone into the agonizingly detailed studies of just one year of the battles of WWII. The obsession with battles misses the point of our existence. It is NOT helpful to maintaining peace to study only war. War victories are the culmination of violent conflict. Maintenance of peace is the thing we need even more. I hope we can keep it up, even if keeping the peace is boring and leads to "Forgotten Years".<br /> <br /> Thanks for your comment!
@mats_fan_710 - Thanks for your comment.<br /> <br /> I just saw the Oils in NYC on Father's Day 2022. They closed the show (before the encore) with this song. I was a bit disappointed to realize half or more of the attendees did not feel the poignant depth of this song. These peaceful times are not only the times to enjoy, but the times to painfully reflect on if we're doing a sufficiently good job of not ending up again in the memorable times of war and 24/7 news coverage of "shock and awe". Great song with great, wondrous, painful recognition of the realities of peace and how we appreciate it (or don't). This might be the end of the "best time" to which you refer, and so these must not become Forgotten Years.<br /> <br /> One thing so obvious still puzzles me. When you learn about ancient history, you typically learn more about wars that start and end empires rather than any evidence of how populations were faring in terms of happiness or at least economic well-being. For example, few people could even make a decent guess at the first civilization. One example is Agade. What normal citizen recognizes that name? How much effort has gone into studying civilizations outside of war vs just the efforts gone into the agonizingly detailed studies of just one year of the battles of WWII. The obsession with battles misses the point of our existence. It is NOT helpful to maintaining peace to study only war. War victories are the culmination of violent conflict. Maintenance of peace is the thing we need even more. I hope we can keep it up, even if keeping the peace is boring and leads to "Forgotten Years".<br /> <br /> Thanks for your comment!
And in remembering those wars try not to have more wars. Sorry, too late, thanks for nothing John, George W and Tony.
This song reminds me of my grandfather. He fought in WWII on the European front. When I was growing up, he used to always tell me stories about the war. Nothing fucked up, but always just telling stories about WWII. I think this song sums up what he was trying to say and helps me understand a little why someone would be so proud and at times even boastful of such a terrible time.
He was passing on the lessons of the desperate and divided years in hopes that they would not be forgotten years. The are not, and I know I'm lucky to live in a place and time where war is so rare that we actually consider regular people with guns to be abnormal and dangerous.
@emanroga - War years are not divided years compared to peace years. People unify during war. During peace, they divide over the simplest things that are far less important. That is why the song calls them desperate and divided years.
@emanroga - War years are not divided years compared to peace years. People unify during war. During peace, they divide over the simplest things that are far less important. That is why the song calls them desperate and divided years.
This song is about WW1, with some specific references to Australia
"Few are the sins....upon the son"- the Father is Britain, Australia is the son, the sin is the war
"Signatures stained with tears"- Australians weren't conscripted, the signed up, and would regret it
"Our shoreline was....strong to contain"- Australia wasnt invaded because of those who fought an died to protect it, the calm we breath is peace, the feeling is freedom
This is simply a song about remembering the sacrifice made by all soldiers during war
@etron - Old comment, but I have to reply. I just saw the Oils a few days ago perform this song, my favorite among their best. You are just plain wrong. Understanding references does not mean those references are the focus of the song. Below is a comment I have made to reply to a misguided comment like yours. The Oils are not trying to focus this song on a call for jingoist war memorialization or even a more serene version of that.<br /> <br /> Here is my longer reply to another:<br /> I think you kinda get the point, but you miss the focus of the very title. FORGOTTEN YEARS refers to the years between wars. The phrases "pre-war years" and "post-war years" exist because wars are forgotten less often than the peaceful years. Overall, history is poorly remembered. So, everything is mostly forgotten. As it should be. Information is infinitely vast. The purpose of life is not to reproduce the past in our memories of everything that has happened. We should live. But, of the things we remember, we would do well to remember the peaceful years, not just appreciate the sacrifices within war years. Remember the great times in peace, remember the sacrifices and efforts to maintain peace as well. So, read through the lyrics. You can find explicit references to what I refer to. I think you get the general appreciation of past heroes and their sufferings, but the song is NOT focuses as a tribute to them. It is a call to celebrate the actual times of peace. You can see news media do 24/7 obsessive coverage of wars. You will never see news media have weeks of obsessive coverage directly focusing on peace. Ever. Thus the song about what we would do well to remember. Thanks.
Etron is right, but not all there. It's certainly not just WW1 specifically.
'Few are the sins of the fathers .... ' is a play on the fairly well known biblical quote "The sins of the father will be visited upon the sons" or to that effect - Exodus I believe.
It's indicating that we are especially blessed and have not had to pay the price that our predecessors did, we've haven't had to live the hardness of our fore-fathers etc. etc. It sets up the rest of the song. Our job now is not to forget this, to respect this and make sure we don't make the same mistakes that lead back to some of that stuff.
And it's not just about war, but the bitterness of divided societies, depressed and unjust economic situations among other things - stuff we've not fully sorted out either of course.
@PapaJ I know this is an old comment, but I had to say that it's exactly how I interpreted it. Like you said, it's about honoring the past by not repeating it. You put it very eloquently :-)
@PapaJ - I think you kinda get the point, but you miss the focus of the very title. FORGOTTEN YEARS refers to the years between wars. The phrases "pre-war years" and "post-war years" exist because wars are forgotten less often than the peaceful years. Overall, history is poorly remembered. So, everything is mostly forgotten. As it should be. Information is infinitely vast. The purpose of life is not to reproduce the past in our memories of everything that has happened. We should live. But, of the things we remember, we would do well to remember the peaceful years, not just appreciate the sacrifices within war years. Remember the great times in peace, remember the sacrifices and efforts to maintain peace as well. So, read through the lyrics. You can find explicit references to what I refer to. I think you get the general appreciation of past heroes and their sufferings, but the song is NOT focuses as a tribute to them. It is a call to celebrate the actual times of peace. You can see news media do 24/7 obsessive coverage of wars. You will never see news media have weeks of obsessive coverage directly focusing on peace. Ever. Thus the song about what we would do well to remember. Thanks.
Oh, just one more point.
The lines "Still it aches like tetanus, it reeks of politics How many dreams remain? This is a feeling too strong to contain"
Commemorating the fallen of WWI and WWII, has been hijacked by politicians for political gain, it was hijacked at the time of war, and it's STILL being hijacked by politicians today to pit us against one another and to divide us along ideological lines.
The song is saying; "I know it's hard, but don't let politics stop you from honoring the fallen; their sacrifices and their victories, because THEY fought for US, not partisan political gain". We must ALWAYS remember that, and not use it as an excuse to ignore, or be angry with, the sacrifices of those who have taken up arms to defend, not only our nation, but other nations as well.
@LYoung - I think you widely miss the point of the song. The song is about how "these are the years between, these are the years that are hard-fought and won" (not "will be won"). The war years are not forgotten relative to the peaceful years. Turn on the history ocumentaries on the TV and you can find war documentaries. Try searching for "peace documentaries". You might find most (especially young) people unable to tell you about history, but that goes double for peaceful times vs war times, including myself. I can tell you all about battles around the world involving the US and even many without. I can describe the battle of Jutland and the Russo-Japanese War. I couldn't tell about the peaceful years in Jutland or nearby. Nope. History lessons (and the nature of men who primarily write them) is disproportionately about war. Perhaps if women controlled more of the agenda, lessons would not be so disproportionate. So, ask someone in the US or Europe about 1942's biggest event, and they will probably tell you it was WII (ongoing since 1939). Ask them about 1947 and what will it be? Forgotten. In fact, my literal first memory of 1947 is US legislation to restructure...the military (National Security Act of 1947, as was drilled into my skull at the US Air Force Academy when I was a cadet there). <br /> <br /> Thus we get to the point of the song. The Oils don't want to perpetuate focus on war, especially the myths about heroes and how war is the answer to many problems. The Oils are well aware of the benefits and but also the costs. The demands put on war heroes are usually a reflection of societies failure to remember the value of the Forgotten Years, a failure to put in the hard work of focusing on unity, resolving problems rather than posturing as a victim and wanting more control and oppression of others. The song contains appreciation of the costs of war and also manipulative and deceptive "diplomacy" and internal suppression ("signatures stained with tears" is not just about war victory treaties), but the song is explicitly about the "years between" the wars. You can even hear citizens refer to years "between WWI and WWII". You don't hear people refer to years "between" whatever-you-call-pre-WWI and whatever-you-call-post-WWII". In fact, we have a phrase "Post-war years". We don't have "post-peace years". Peace is rarely the most referenced phase in history. The peaceful years should not be the Forgotten Years. It was in those years yet more wars were avoided and more happiness was found.
My favourite song from the Oil's.
Love Garret's Aussie accent on the line "Old signatures stained with tears"
"These should not be forgotten years" Just brings a shiver to the body, hopefully the generations to come will continue to remember our past and be thankful for what we have today!
"It reeks of politics" Ironic, considering Peter Garrett's current occupation. Although his long standing critcism of governments is probably what motivated him to join the political arena, I can see that, it's just that I sometimes think to myself, well you've just gone and joined the same group of people you so publicly disapproved of. He hasn't made any significant moves or changes yet to make me think otherwise.
@iloverock18 - Garret joined government and you think that is bad? If you think the solution is to refuse to participate unless you have a perfect government, then you will never even have good government. And anarchy is not only bad as a goal, it never existed nor will it ever. All humans and nature itself constantly engage in organic self-organization. Structure and governing processes will always arise and exist so you must either vigilantly participate in the effort to guide their evolution or you are letting someone or something guide that evolution without your opinion or values mattering.
To me this song has two meanings. It's definitely written about the ANZACS in WWI and WWII. The most tumultuous time in modern history, where two generations of Australians and New Zealanders lost their innocence to world war.
It's definitely about commemorating what they did for our respective countries, and OTHER countries as well; which is easy to do when we have no PHYSICAL reminders of the war on our homefront - as they weren't really fought on our shores; they were fought in Asia and Europe. However, we MUST remember the sacrifices these people made for the betterment of not only Australia and NZ, but several European countries as well.
To me though, the song is also pleading with it's listeners to not forget the horror of war; the futility of it, and the general human sacrifice and degradation that comes with it, because 'those who do not learn from their mistakes are condemned to repeat them'.
As the benefactors of what has come before; we must honor them, and the best way to honor them is to ensure that their sacrifices have not been in vain, but rather, have taught us about the reality of war, and perhaps have even helped us to find a better way to relate to each other as individuals, cultures and nations.
@LYoung - No, no, no. You're understanding of "definitely" is not so much an understanding but a point of view that you must be right and others clueless and wrong. Such is not the case.
I think it's as much a war protest song as it is protesting for the rights of war veterans