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He said son, have you seen the world?
Well, what would you say if I said that you could
Just carry this gun, 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
[Chorus]
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
Cause 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
[Chorus]
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
And 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
The only flag that I trust
He said, son, have you seen the world?
Well what would you say, if I said that you could?
Well, what would you say if I said that you could
Just carry this gun, 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
[Chorus]
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
Cause 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
[Chorus]
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
And 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
The only flag that I trust
He said, son, have you seen the world?
Well what would you say, if I said that you could?
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"He said son, have you seen the world?
Well, what would you say if I said that you could
Just carry this gun, you'll even get paid
I said that sounds pretty good"
When in reality it's hell. At first he stays true to his morals but then falls prey to irrational acts of a more barbaric nature that seem's to appear within men when they fight.
"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"
Then you have the climax of the song when he see's this girl running towards him. He has no choice but to gun her down. She has a "flag white as snow." So he realizes that he has gunned down and innocent girl that did nothing wrong. He realizes what war is, what it does to people. He is forever changed by it and can never go back. But he always remembers what he did those days.
"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
The only flag that I trust
He said, son, have you seen the world?
Well what would you say, if I said that you could?"
Very sad song but has a lot of truth to it.Thank you Rise Against for another one of your master pieces.
Everyone thinks of people in the military who fight in wars as heros, but that's not all there is to war (as this song explains)...
Example:
"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"
"And 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"
The killing of innocent people...
"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
The only flag that I trust"
Meaning all people think of is a person being JUST a Hero of War, not all the casulties, etc. that they went through... especially when there is more to it than what most people see.
This song is a diss on war and how un-needed a lot of it is all because most people think about fighting rather than getting along.
I think overall the song shows the regression of a soldier and man. He is coming to terms with the situation he was put in when he was young and innocent and the overall consequence of this commitment when he was left with the psychological and emotional trauma and pain in addition to the regret and the remorse he feels towards his actions.
' Son have you seen the world?' This lyric is repeated as, in my opinion it was a very large amount of significance. At the beginning , he is eager to physically see the world - the sights , travel ect , however the repeated version at the end is almost a metaphor for his maturing and experience. Have you seen the world ? For example have you seen the hate and the wars , have you seen the corruption ect
The white flag that the girl is holding may represent the flag of surrender. Someone may assume that they would have stopped shooting if it was a flag of surrender but he didnt - in fact he killed her and it shows that the white of his innocence is damaged by the blood stains of war. He tries to justify his action by saying I begged her to stop.
The song also indicates the pressure to idolize respect soldiers ( as people should) but also glorify them:
In fact, society glorifies soldiers to the point people forget the soldier is a man ( or woman) and hence people willingly sign up unaware of the trauma they will go through and also the trauma they will force onto others out of pressure from their job. 'i begged them to stop, but then I joined in"
At first becoming a soldier was exicting and appealing - carrying the flag felt patriotic however after 'seeing the world' all of the appeal has gone, he is only performing his duty out of loyalty and because he has to, nothing more. 'now it gathers dust'
Many things happened in those wars just like they were described. I personally think its around the Korean/Vietnam war era by the way the lyrics are written, but It could be any war period.