THE IRAQ WAR

"Mosh" – Eminem

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America
And to the Republic for which it stands
One nation under God
Indivisible with liberty and justice for all...
It feels so good to be back..

I scrutinize every word, memorize every line
I spit it once, refuel, re-energize and rewind
I give sight to the blind, my insight through the mind
I exercise my right to express when I feel it's time
It's just all in your mind, what you interpret it as
I say to fight, you take it as I'mma whip someone's ass
If you don't understand, don't even bother to ask
A father who has grown up with a fatherless past
Who has blown up now to rap phenomenon that has
Or at least shows no difficulty multi-task
And in juggling both perhaps mastered his craft
Slash entrepreneur who has helped launch a few more rap acts
Who's had a few obstacles thrown his way through the last half
Of his career typical manure moving past that
Mr. kisses ass crack, he's a class act
Rubber band man, yea he just snaps back

[Chorus:]
Come along follow me as I lead through the darkness
As I provide just enough spark that we need to proceed
Carry on, give me hope, give me strength
Come with me and I won't steer you wrong
Put your faith and your trust as I guide us through the fog
To the light at the end of the tunnel
We gonna fight, we gonna charge, we gonna stomp, we gonna march
Through the swamp, we gonna mosh through the marsh
Take us right through the doors (c'mon)

All the people up top on the side and the middle
Come together lets all bomb and swamp just a little
Just let it gradually build from the front to the back
All you can see is a sea of people some white and some black
Don't matter what color, all that matters we gathered together
To celebrate for the same cause don't matter the weather
If it rains let it rain, yea the wetter the better
They ain't gonna stop us they can't, we stronger now more than ever
They tell us no we say yea, they tell us stop we say go
Rebel with a rebel yell, raise hell we gonna let em know
Stomp, push, shove, mush, Fuck Bush, until they bring our troops home (c'mon)

[Chorus]

Imagine it pouring, it's raining down on us
Mosh pits outside the oval office
Someone's tryina tell us something,
Maybe this is God just sayin' we're responsible
For this monster, this coward,
That we have empowered
This is Bin Laden, look at his head noddin'
How could we allow something like this without pumping our fists
Now this is our final hour
Let me be the voice in your strength and your choice
Let me simplify the rhyme just to amplify the noise
Try to amplify the times it, and multiply by six...
Teen million people, Are equal at this high pitch
Maybe we can reach al-Qaida through my speech
Let the president answer a higher anarchy
Strap him with an Ak-47, let him go, fight his own war
Let him impress daddy that way
No more blood for oil, we got our own battles to fight on our own soil
No more psychological warfare, to trick us to thinking that we ain't loyal
If we don't serve our own country, we're patronizing a hero
Look in his eyes its all lies
The stars and stripes, they've been swiped, washed out and wiped
And replaced with his own face, Mosh now or die
If I get sniped tonight you know why,
Cause I told you to fight.

[Chorus]

And as we proceed,
To Mosh through this desert storm,
In these closing statements, if they should argue
Let us beg to differ
As we set aside our differences
And assemble our own army
To disarm this Weapon of Mass Destruction
That we call our President, for the present
And Mosh for the future of our next generation
To speak and be heard
Mr. President, Mr. Senator
Do you guy's hear us...hear us...[laughing]



URL to video performance:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8M9MTle-8AM

 

Analysis:


            What stands out in the language of this song is how it steadily gets more and more aggressive in both the lyrics and the tone of his voice. By the end of the song Eminem is talking about death, deceit, and lies, and he is shouting. It is quite obvious that this song is anti-war given the lyrics, such as when he asks to stop the “psychological warfare” that is meant “to trick us to thinking that we ain't loyal,” and “Stomp, push, shove, mush, F*** Bush, until they bring our troops home.” The song is critical of the stated foreign policy, the Bush Doctrine, given the last lyric line which clearly shows Eminem’s view on Bush. This song answers the question to what is the cost of war by showing that a leader and iconic figure can be tainted and brought down because of the consequences of war. I do not agree with the message of this song due mainly to its aggressiveness and one-sidedness.

st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } "Bomb the World"- Michael Franti and Spearhead

 

 

Song Lyrics:

Please tell me the reason
behind the colors that you fly
love just one nation
and the whole world we divide
you say you’re “sorry”
say, “there is no other choice”
but god bless the people them
who cannot raise their voice

(chorus)
we can chase down all our enemies
bring them to their knees
we can bomb the world to pieces
but we can’t bomb it into peace
whoa we may even find a solution
to hunger and disease
we can bomb the world to pieces
but we can’t bomb it into peace

violence brings one thing
more more of the same
military madness
the smell of flesh and burning pain
so I sing out to the masses
stand up if you’re still sane!
To all of us gone crazy
I sing this one refrain

(chorus)

and I sing power to the peaceful
love to the people y’all
power to the peaceful
love to the people y’all

URL to audio or video performance:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICL-4Onk0PA

 

Analysis:

 

Bomb the World, by Michael Franti, is an anti-war song about the Iraq War. The lines “love just one nation, and a whole world we divide” stand out to me because they so explicitly associates nationalism with global disunity. Also, “we can bomb the world to pieces, but we can’t bomb it into peace” is a good way of expressing the shortcomings of war as a method of attaining peace.  Also, the quote “military madness, the smell of flesh and burning pain” further reveals the song’s disapproving stance toward the war. The song is critical of the Bush Doctrine, because it essentially states that the Iraq War causes suffering and, in contrast to the Bush Doctrine’s goal of protecting the American people, it is not an effective means of bringing about peace. This song answers the questions of how war affects society and its cost. It makes the point that nationalism, and war, which is closely related to nationalism in the context of the song, divide the whole world and brings “the smell of flesh and burning pain”. I agree with Franti’s message as applied to the Iraq War, because I also think that this war is causing a great deal of suffering and is contributing to further division in the world. Bush successfully alienated the US from the majority of the international community because of his decision to invade and occupy.

Hero of War-Rise Against
Lyrics: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

I kicked in the door
I yelled my commands
The children, they cried
But I got my man
We took him away
A bag over his face
From his family and his friends

They took off his clothes
They pissed in his hands
I told them to stop
But then I joined in
We beat him with guns
And batons not just once
But again and again

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 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?"

Analysis:
Rise Against, since its debut, has been regarded for its liberal political and environmental views.  The song Hero of War perfectly displays that trait.  At one point the song states: A hero of war…Is that what they see…Just medals and scars…So damn proud of me.  On of the main themes in this song is the hypocrisy of patriotism.  One of the most monumental scenes in the song is when: 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.  This is the heroes that we Americans honor, those who shoot the innocent civilians of war.  Throughout the whole song, Rise Against makes references to the atrocities of war, and the actual horrors that Americans miss.  As is obvious, Hero of War is completely against the Iraq War’s foreign policy.  As the hero in the song retells his war experience, you see the violence and murder caused by American troops.  At one point the song states: They took off his clothes…They pissed in his hands.  This refers to the prisons such Abu Ghirab tortures.  The soldiers took a man, probably innocent, from family and tortured him.  You can see the hero’s transformation through the movie.  He starts out excited by the war and what America is doing but once he experiences it firsthand he realizes the actuality of it.  He realizes the war is not the heroic dealings of the brave, but the savagery actions of animals.  The song states clearly the effects of war on the individual.  The war changes people; either killing them or making them hardened animals.  War also affects the society.  As the song states, America, in times of need, will stand behind their soldiers.  Also as the song states: “We marched and we sang…We all became friends…As we learned how to fight”, soldiers build up a deep rooted sense of camaraderie.  Overall all though, the movie suggests for any of the benefits that war brings, there are too many costs.  Personally I agree fully with this song.  Besides from it being one of my favorite modern songs, I believe its message rings true.  To many times we as citizens don’t realize the scandalous things that soldiers do and all we do is honor their bravery.  There are too many costs for war to be beneficial.

Link to Song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DboMAghWcA