I listened to this song for the first time in years and thought I heard something new. The song starts out focusing on the American soldiers, then in the last verse changes to the perspective of the Viet Cong:
We held the coastline
They held the highlands
And they were sharp
As sharp as knives
They heard the hum of our motors
They counted the rotors
And waited for us to arrive
Then goes into the closing chorus:
And we would all go down together
We said we'd all go down together
Yes we would all go down together
It's easy to hear the "we" in the final chorus as still being just about the American soldiers, but what if he's talking about not just them, but the American and Viet Cong soldiers together? What if they would ALL go down together? Meaning, war will take us all down.
Don't know if BJ intended that interpretation, but I sure like it.
ooh, i like that too. was reading the reply about chills down the spine at the live madison square garden performance... i don't think you necessarily have to see it live (though i am beyond bummed that my dad went to the last tour and i didn't!!). i was born a couple years after this song came out and have been listening to it my entire life. i watched it on youtube a minute ago, and cried, and it just lit a fire inside me. i loathe war. it has killed a piece of my soul. nobody has the right...
ooh, i like that too. was reading the reply about chills down the spine at the live madison square garden performance... i don't think you necessarily have to see it live (though i am beyond bummed that my dad went to the last tour and i didn't!!). i was born a couple years after this song came out and have been listening to it my entire life. i watched it on youtube a minute ago, and cried, and it just lit a fire inside me. i loathe war. it has killed a piece of my soul. nobody has the right to decide who lives or dies. i have no more words, save for a few very offensive ones. but pencilneck, i like that interpretation. that's basically it, whether billy meant it or not.
I listened to this song for the first time in years and thought I heard something new. The song starts out focusing on the American soldiers, then in the last verse changes to the perspective of the Viet Cong:
We held the coastline They held the highlands And they were sharp As sharp as knives They heard the hum of our motors They counted the rotors And waited for us to arrive
Then goes into the closing chorus:
And we would all go down together We said we'd all go down together Yes we would all go down together
It's easy to hear the "we" in the final chorus as still being just about the American soldiers, but what if he's talking about not just them, but the American and Viet Cong soldiers together? What if they would ALL go down together? Meaning, war will take us all down.
Don't know if BJ intended that interpretation, but I sure like it.
ooh, i like that too. was reading the reply about chills down the spine at the live madison square garden performance... i don't think you necessarily have to see it live (though i am beyond bummed that my dad went to the last tour and i didn't!!). i was born a couple years after this song came out and have been listening to it my entire life. i watched it on youtube a minute ago, and cried, and it just lit a fire inside me. i loathe war. it has killed a piece of my soul. nobody has the right...
ooh, i like that too. was reading the reply about chills down the spine at the live madison square garden performance... i don't think you necessarily have to see it live (though i am beyond bummed that my dad went to the last tour and i didn't!!). i was born a couple years after this song came out and have been listening to it my entire life. i watched it on youtube a minute ago, and cried, and it just lit a fire inside me. i loathe war. it has killed a piece of my soul. nobody has the right to decide who lives or dies. i have no more words, save for a few very offensive ones. but pencilneck, i like that interpretation. that's basically it, whether billy meant it or not.