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.
@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.
Here is my longer reply to another:
I think you kinda get the point, but you miss the...
Here is my longer reply to another:
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.
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.
@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.
Here is my longer reply to another: I think you kinda get the point, but you miss the...
Here is my longer reply to another: 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.