Army Dreamers

If there's a controversial song by Kate, this is it. The Irish lilt in her voice and the celtic-esque guitar line got her criticised for implying this song was about Northern Ireland. Kate replied that it was a song designed to be relevant to all conflicts which take young lives.

its like the old joke isnt it - to join the army is to travel to fascinating places, meet fascinating people, and kill them.

An ode to the grieving parents of a deceased young war hero

I would say it's about certain young men who only join the army because they have no other opportunities in life as they grew up poverty. No doubt they are keen to 'see the world' but really they are pawns to the politicians and generals who send them to wars. They know little about the situation in which they find themselves - the chicken with the fox. They don't stand much chance. It's waste when people killed in wars which they have little, if any, say - and - if they really should have had the opportunity to chose a path more appropriate to their dreams. It's shame that wars should only be fought by those who clamber for such conflict.

"Our little army boy is coming home from B.F.P.O..." B.F.P.O stands for British Forces Post Office. This line represents how little people actually know about their loved ones lives within the armed forces. He wasn't coming home from a place, he was coming home from a mailing address. This is a subversive song in that it suggests that there is no point in going into the army, as Kate sings: "What a waste". It suggests that the medals won for bravery and valour have no more significance than buttons and bow, and are merely shows of ego.
The mother singing in this song has, even in the face of her son's death, a critical view of her child's acheivements and life choices (i.e. entering the army rather than attempting fame through music or politics), instead of being proud of him.

The first thing I thought of with this one is how young me n go into the army expecting it to be glamorous, believing so much in what theyre doing, feeling full of pride and ego, they find out different.

This is about a young man who joined the army probably because he had no hope of any other work and is killed. The vision of his mourning mother waiting in an aerodrome for her sons body is quite striking. To me this reminds me of all those poor boys and men killed in Northern Ireland, fighting in a brutal and nasty conflict...Or perhaps in the more recent war in the Gulf..

I'd rather be sailing...