Dulce et Decorum est Pro Patria Mori

And the last line of Owen's poem is taken from Roman poet Horace.

I'm pretty sure the quote was used before WWI, and Wilfred Owen used it calling it an "old lie". Regina Spektor refers to this: "And the lie's still repeating through the years Dulce et Decorum Est Pro Patria Mori" I think this song is a statement on how the times have changed from when going to battle was glorious, even though back then the ideal was glorious but the truth was not. I just stumbled upon this song recently and I really like it.

The title is the last line of the poem "Dulce es Decorum Est" by Wilfred Owen which means "it is sweet and honourable to die for one's country." The poem is told by a soldier in WW1 watching a fellow soldier die from being gassed. These words are delivered ironically as the soldier watches the horror of war and sees how pointless to die for one's country it really is. english.emory.edu/LostPoets/Dulce.html

that is the best poem ever. please read it, you will love it. but i've never heard of this song.... where i can i hear it?

The final stanza of the poem being referenced is actually a criticism of contemporary poets who were writing rousing patriotic poems encouraging the youth of the country to go to war without having actually seen a battle themselves.

i love this song. it's one of my favorite of hers. i actually cried the first time i heard it, which is quite a feat, on the line 'you can't spend your whole life waiting for god to kiss you back.'

Yeah, like some comments mentioned, the Latin line comes from Horace's Odes but was satirized by Owen in his poem, "Dulce et Decorum Est".

This is one of my favorite songs. It's about a crisis of faith, perhaps spurred on by watching the horrors of war (like for Owen), or just the horrors of life in general.

This is such a beautiful song. I just love it from beginning to end. Especially when she says: "you can't spend your whole life waiting for God to kiss you" cause you honestly can't.

and the one verse that goes: "After all, the children being born into A time of searching for some glory And the lie's still repeating through the years Dulce et Decorum Est Pro Patria Mori"

I think she's saying that they might think that dying for one's country is honorable, that's not exactly true. That they should think of something else then listing to that lie and path glory because there are other ways of reaching it. I don't know. I probably am wrong

but that verse gets me every time I hear it. It just does. Regina Spektor is amazing, that she is.

After all, the children being born into A time of searching for some glory And the lie's still repeating through the years Dulce et Decorum Est Pro Patria Mori.

freaking epic

Sometimes I think that I have strong moments of clarity about regina's songs. One in awhile, I find the meaning of her songs through what's going on in my life and my own feelings at that exact moment. And perhaps my interpretations are not the same as miss spektor's interpretations one her song, but it's the best that I can ask for, because I think that all great art is left up to the interpretation of the viewer/listener. And they can make the art mean whatever they want it to mean

So, this is how I feel about this song right now, in this moment:

"After all, everything'd been said and done I feel, I feel better now Come away, lay your hands and rest and close your eyes Say a prayer for those who've gone"

I imagine that this person in the song is at the end of their life, and they are looking back on all the things that happpened. They're happy and proud of all the choices that they'd made. I think that they probably didn't have an absolutely perfect life, yet through all the shitty things that may havee happened, there are still happy and now ready to die because they're at peace with their life.

The next part starting with "It's hard, it's hard" and ending with "Don't comfort me, not anymore" is the person in the middle of their life, trying to figure out how to live it the best that they can. They are finally leaving behind their preconceived notions about how life should be lived ("Things that used to comfort me,Don't comfort me anymore") and deciding for themselves, how they want to live.

"After all, the children being born into A time of searching for some glory And the lie's still repeating through the years Dulce et Decorum Est Pro Patria Mori"

The person is reflecting back on the horror of how we try and raise our kids. We don't let them make their own decisions or create their own thoughts, but instead we force our own ideas onto them. The last two lines means that society keeps telling us how to live. To society, living means that "it is sweet and honorable to die for one's country," but that's not going to make everyone happy, especially if someone tells you that what you have to do. and that what it's such a lie.

"But you can't spend your whole life Waiting for God to kiss you

I think this part of the song is the absolutely most important. The person is finally realizing that he just has to live his life in a way that makes him happy and proud. He can't wait around for God or anyone else to tell him how to live or the correct way to live. He has to decide that for himself, and be proud of that decision.

So I think what this song is trying to say is that in the end, we have to be happy with the things that we've done, and be proud of the choices we've made. We have to live our life in a way that makes us the happiest. This doesn't have to be a selfish thing because being happy is different for everyone, so if serving your country makes you the happiest, well then go serve your country. But do it because you want to do it and it makes you happy and not because someone tells you that that's what you have to do.