I was intending to break from my musings on the North-South divide and write a piece on anti-war songs but I was so appalled at the bloodbath in Iraq yesterday that I remain amazed at how quickly Iraq has fallen apart.
Recently, the UN produced a report stating that Bush and Cheney’s bright shining lie will have cost them $3trillion……so far it has cost us (the UK) £5+billion – contrast that with the NHS deficit of £500+million – but the mind-numbing figures are 2 million Iraqis that have fled their country, the 2 million who are displaced and the obscene (holocaust?) number of 600,000+ Iraqis who have died, let alone those maimed and traumatised.
Very soon, the neo-conservative Blair will depart and we’ll have no more of the messianic, money-grubbing zealot and we’ll welcome, errm….Gordie, his pathologically sulking, witless paymaster and fellow war criminal.
And now for a musical interlude. Anti-war protest songs have played a long and honourable part for centuries. As a teenager, I recall the scores of excellent and potent songs that accompanied those many anti-Vietnam war rallies.
Of all the Iraq anti-war songs – Neil Young, Billy Bragg, REM, Lenny Kravitz – the 2 clips that I’ve posted are the best......
Randy Newman is the finest writer of songs the past 45 years – arguably with Dylan.
I used to knock around with members of Fairport Convention in the late 60’s in North London and Richard Thompson, even at the age of 17-18, was a wizard guitarist. Richard tended to have a socio-political edge to many of his songs but ‘Dad’s gonna kill me’ is a stunning piece of writing and a wonderful song.
4 comments:
Just a minor addition about the songs of protest, but to me the most powerful anti-war song was "Good Morning Saigon" by Billy Joel, instead of pleading the pros and cons of the war in vietnam, this song instead gave a chilling image from the American soldiers perspective of the war far from home, with no real reason.just my 2 cents.
-R McG
Thanks, R McG, but would that be 2 'euro'cents?
I agree about the Joel song Goodnight Saigon - great lyrics.
May I point you in the direction of Arlo Guthrie and Alice's Restaurant - for us empathetic Brits it was the synthesis of satirical comment on the Viet-war.
Look in again.
Best,
The Refugee
Agree totally with 'Alice's Resturant'.
Just as a matter of interest, not sure how you came across me but my main blog is at http://innerminx.blogspot.com.
The Little Minx is just a pantry for me short stuff. If you're interested.
Ah... Alice's Restaurant...such fond memories - and rekindled when R McG and I saw Arlo Guthrie in concert at Vicar Street on one of his rare visits to Dublin last August. Brilliant gig, very funny and great fun educating R McG in the music I enjoyed as a wayward teen! He loved Stephen Bishop too.
LK
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