Aint No Right

The 1980 single Army Dreamers proves that BUSH was not afraid to discuss delicate political issues. In 1979 Margaret Thatcher became Prime Minister of the UK. The Iron Lady ruined the living conditions of the lower class and many young men tried to escape unemployment by joining the army. In the song a mother weeps over her son, who was killed in the army.

Army Dreamers reflects war’s brutality and emotional devastation from a Mother’s perspective for her deceased son, who had served in the British army. Army Dreamers emphasised emotions experienced by losing a loved one to war, why it can be a heartbreaking experience. Army Dreamers was released in late 1980, it coincidentally coincided with events leading up to the Falklands War, a conflict between Britain and Argentina over territorial occupation of the Falkland Islands. As a result the BBC, Britain’s leading radio and television broadcaster, banned songs with anti-war sentiments including Army Dreamers. It has been argued Army Dreamers’ themes were ‘poignant and imaginative in its evocation of utter waste’ [4]. This is a description which lends itself to the argument of Bush’s music containing a storytelling quality, where listeners become absorbed into the song as it explores anti-war themes:

Mourning in the aerodrome,
The weather warmer, he is colder.
Four men in uniform
To carry home my little soldier.

Bush allows listeners to engage the Mother’s grieving thought process. The Mother is so entrenched in grief that she analyses surroundings in relation to her deceased son, such as the warm weather containing a better condition than her deceased son’s corpse. This description reflects Army Dreamers containing a storytelling quality, as the lyrics place listeners subjectively within the Mother’s distress. The Mother’s nurturing instinct was conveyed in Army Dreamers‘ video by representing the decreased son as a young boy. Since Army Dreamers is from the Mother’s perspective, the deceased solider being seen as a young boy lets listeners experience the Mother’s emotional reflectivity. This is repeated in Army Dreamers’ chorus:

Should have been a rock star.
But he didn’t have the money for a guitar.
What could he do?
Should have been a politician.
But he never had a proper education.
What could he do?
Should have been a father.
But he never even made it to his twenties.
What a waste —
Army dreamers.

Army Dreamers‘ chorus reflects the Mother’s ambitions for her decreased son. He could have been successful yet circumstances played against him. These tragic repercussions play out in the video as a motif, where the Mother sees her deceased son hiding behind a tree in army uniform. The Mother runs to her deceased son, yet when reaching the tree he has disappeared, representing his death as well as opportunities he could have had. The emotional devastation of this motif enhances Army Dreamers’ storytelling quality as it lingers beyond its video. This lingering effect underlines Army Dreamers’ storytelling qualities because its themes could engage listeners beyond its lyrics and video by understanding the Mother’s emotions in context of war.

"Talkin' Bout A Revolution"

Don't you know
They're talkin' bout a revolution
It sounds like a whisper
Don't you know
They're talkin' about a revolution
It sounds like a whisper

While they're standing in the welfare lines
Crying at the doorsteps of those armies of salvation
Wasting time in the unemployment lines
Sitting around waiting for a promotion

Poor people gonna rise up
And get their share
Poor people gonna rise up
And take what's theirs

Don't you know
You better run, run, run...
Oh I said you better Run, run, run...
Finally the tables are starting to turn
Talkin' bout a revolution

mockbee wrote:

Choas! Where did your post go........? I thought I saw this earlier.

Essence_Smith wrote:

Yip Harburg and Jay Gorney’s parable about the human indiginity of hardship may have come out of the American Depression of the 1930s, but it’s a telling soundtrack for any era of economic suffering. The gorgeous tune and the crooner’s effortless art enhance the bewilderment of someone grappling with shattered pride, but the song’s underlying bitterness is there in the opening line: “They used to tell me I was building a dream…”

Adurentibus Spina wrote:Dude, I know you've got some less well-known stuff up your sleeve.

Artemis wrote:Army Dreamers by Kate Bush

The 1980 single Army Dreamers proves that BUSH was not afraid to discuss delicate political issues. In 1979 Margaret Thatcher became Prime Minister of the UK. The Iron Lady ruined the living conditions of the lower class and many young men tried to escape unemployment by joining the army. In the song a mother weeps over her son, who was killed in the army.

Army Dreamers reflects war’s brutality and emotional devastation from a Mother’s perspective for her deceased son, who had served in the British army. Army Dreamers emphasised emotions experienced by losing a loved one to war, why it can be a heartbreaking experience. Army Dreamers was released in late 1980, it coincidentally coincided with events leading up to the Falklands War, a conflict between Britain and Argentina over territorial occupation of the Falkland Islands. As a result the BBC, Britain’s leading radio and television broadcaster, banned songs with anti-war sentiments including Army Dreamers. It has been argued Army Dreamers’ themes were ‘poignant and imaginative in its evocation of utter waste’ [4]. This is a description which lends itself to the argument of Bush’s music containing a storytelling quality, where listeners become absorbed into the song as it explores anti-war themes:

Mourning in the aerodrome,
The weather warmer, he is colder.
Four men in uniform
To carry home my little soldier.

Bush allows listeners to engage the Mother’s grieving thought process. The Mother is so entrenched in grief that she analyses surroundings in relation to her deceased son, such as the warm weather containing a better condition than her deceased son’s corpse. This description reflects Army Dreamers containing a storytelling quality, as the lyrics place listeners subjectively within the Mother’s distress. The Mother’s nurturing instinct was conveyed in Army Dreamers‘ video by representing the decreased son as a young boy. Since Army Dreamers is from the Mother’s perspective, the deceased solider being seen as a young boy lets listeners experience the Mother’s emotional reflectivity. This is repeated in Army Dreamers’ chorus:

Should have been a rock star.
But he didn’t have the money for a guitar.
What could he do?
Should have been a politician.
But he never had a proper education.
What could he do?
Should have been a father.
But he never even made it to his twenties.
What a waste —
Army dreamers.

Army Dreamers‘ chorus reflects the Mother’s ambitions for her decreased son. He could have been successful yet circumstances played against him. These tragic repercussions play out in the video as a motif, where the Mother sees her deceased son hiding behind a tree in army uniform. The Mother runs to her deceased son, yet when reaching the tree he has disappeared, representing his death as well as opportunities he could have had. The emotional devastation of this motif enhances Army Dreamers’ storytelling quality as it lingers beyond its video. This lingering effect underlines Army Dreamers’ storytelling qualities because its themes could engage listeners beyond its lyrics and video by understanding the Mother’s emotions in context of war.

Pandemonium wrote:I could fill pages with clips from Killing Joke, so I'll abstain and leave that to Mockbee.

Slow the procession that moves down
The road as they mourn
Hearts that are heavy
No burden unloaded
No resolution
No retribution
The madness must stop now
No No
Whisper the dead to the living
They can't hear it's cold

But in the sadness that pierces my heart
Seeds we sow
And in the end all we have is each other
Zennon (x4)

Molded by computer archetypes
Killing is fun
Nervous the young boy his first job
He lifts up his gun
Victims of circumstance
Products of what we've begun
Wide open mouths as the killer
He knows what he's done

Artemis wrote:This is a pretty powerful and moving song.

A MODERN DAY PROTEST SONG AND VIDEO
“I didn’t want to talk about it, so I wrote a song about it.”
Greg Keelor

Compelled to add their voice to the chorus of voices protesting Prime Minister Harper’s Conservative government, Blue Rodeo has written the modern day protest song “Stealin’ All My Dreams”.

Recorded and filmed on September 9, 2015, the song and video chronicle the failings of the current government and asks the question, “Have you forgotten that you work for me?”

“Blue Rodeo does not always speak with one voice. However we feel collectively that the current administration in Canada has taken us down the wrong path. We do not seem to be the compassionate and environmentally conscious nation we once were. As respectful as we are of the variety of opinions held by our audience, ‎we felt it was time to speak up and add our voice to the conversation.”
Jim Cuddy