Paddy's Lament, or "Paddy's Lamentation" is an Irish Folk Song written about the disillusionment felt by many of the original Irish immigrants to America, as they were made to fight in America's wars almost as soon as they arrived. The poem describes the horrors of fighting in a war not theirs, and thus the song is a reflection of the times we live in...where America is yet again fighting a war that doesn't need to be fought, and everyone else is being made to choose sides.
The song is partly an anti-war song in that sense, and is more or less saying that war tears families and friends apart needlessly. It's also trying to make the point that too often we repeat ourselves and that breaking away from this vicious cycle would mean an age of respite for the world.
Paddy's Lament, or "Paddy's Lamentation" is an Irish Folk Song written about the disillusionment felt by many of the original Irish immigrants to America, as they were made to fight in America's wars almost as soon as they arrived. The poem describes the horrors of fighting in a war not theirs, and thus the song is a reflection of the times we live in...where America is yet again fighting a war that doesn't need to be fought, and everyone else is being made to choose sides.
The song is partly an anti-war song in that sense, and is more or less saying that war tears families and friends apart needlessly. It's also trying to make the point that too often we repeat ourselves and that breaking away from this vicious cycle would mean an age of respite for the world.