Hero of war - Rise against |
Lyrics
She walked through bullets and haze
I asked her to stop I begged her to stay But she pressed on So I lifted my gun And I fired away The shells jumped through the smoke And into the sand That the blood now had soaked She collapsed with a flag in her hand A flag white as snow A hero of war Is that what they see Just medals and scars So damn proud of me And I brought home that flag Now it gathers dust But it's a flag that I love It's the only flag I trust He said, "Son, have you seen the world? Well what would you say, if I said that you could?" He said "Son, have you seen the world? Well, what would you say if I said that you could? Just carry this gun and you'll even get paid." I said "That sounds pretty good." Black leather boots Spit-shined so bright They cut off my hair but it looked alright We marched and we sang We all became friends As we learned how to fight |
A hero of war
Yeah that's what I'll be And when I come home They'll be damn proud of me I'll carry this flag To the grave if I must Because it's a flag that I love And a flag that I trust She walked through bullets and hazeI asked her to stop I begged her to stay But she pressed on So I lifted my gun And I fired away The shells jumped through the smoke And into the sand That the blood now had soaked She collapsed with a flag in her hand A flag white as snow A hero of war Is that what they see Just medals and scars So damn proud of me And I brought home that flag Now it gathers dust But it's a flag that I love It's the only flag I trust He said, "Son, have you seen the world? Well what would you say, if I said that you could?" |
Analysis
This song is anti-war because the writer is saying that he killed many people in war but he is seen as a hero at home even though he doesn’t feel like he is one. The foreign policy during this time was the Bush Doctrine. The Bush Doctrine stated that the job of the US is to protect its people and interests. If something threatens that, the US can interfere. This song is not as specific about foreign policy but the writer is in support of the foreign policy because he says “I'll carry this flag to the grave if I must 'cause it's the flag that I love and a flag that I trust.” He supports his country in fighting but he doesn’t specify if he supports the reason for entering the war. This song answers the question “How does war affect the individual?” because the writer talks about how he had to torture prisoners and is upset by it. He also hates how everyone sees him as a hero even though he killed so many people and tortured prisoners. I agree with the message of the song because the writer describes his actions as immoral and not worthy of praise but people still see him as a hero. I understand that soldiers have to do those tasks to protect themselves and their nation and they are recognized as heroes.