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There was a decorated general with a heart of gold
That likened him to all the stories he told
Of past battles, won and lost and legends of old
A seasoned veteran in his own time
On the battlefield, he gained respectable fame
With many medals of bravery and stripes to his name
He grew a beard as soon as he could
To cover the scars on his face and always urged his men on
But on the eve of a great battle with the infantry in dream
The old general tossed in his sleep and wrestled with its meaning
He awoke from the night to tell what he had seen
And walked slowly out of his tent
All the men held tall with their chests in the air
With courage in their blood and a fire in their stare
It was a gray morning and they all wondered how they would fare
The old general told them to go home
He said, "I have seen the others and I have discovered
That this fight is not worth fighting
Oh and I've seen their mothers
And I will no other to follow me where I'm going"
So take a shower and shine your shoes you got no time to lose
You are young men you must be living, yeah
Take a shower and shine your shoes you got no time to lose
You are young men you must be living, go now you are forgiven
Yeah and the men stood fast with their guns on their shoulders
Not knowing what to do with the contradicting orders
The general said, he would do his own duty but he would
Extend it no further the men could go as they pleased
But not a man moved, their eyes gazed straight ahead
Till one by one they stepped back and not a word was said
And the old general was left with his
Own words echoing in his head, he then prepared to fight
He said, "I have seen the others and I have discovered
That this fight is not worth fighting
Oh and I've seen their mothers
And I will no other to follow me where I'm going"
So take a shower and shine your shoes you got no time to lose
You are young men you must be living, yeah
Take a shower and shine your shoes you got no time to lose
You are young men you must be living, go now you are forgiven
Go now you are forgiven
Go now you are forgiven
Go now you are forgiven
Go
Go now you are forgiven
Go now you are forgiven
Go now you are forgiven
Go
Go now you are forgiven
Go now you are forgiven
Go now you are forgiven
Go
...
That likened him to all the stories he told
Of past battles, won and lost and legends of old
A seasoned veteran in his own time
On the battlefield, he gained respectable fame
With many medals of bravery and stripes to his name
He grew a beard as soon as he could
To cover the scars on his face and always urged his men on
But on the eve of a great battle with the infantry in dream
The old general tossed in his sleep and wrestled with its meaning
He awoke from the night to tell what he had seen
And walked slowly out of his tent
All the men held tall with their chests in the air
With courage in their blood and a fire in their stare
It was a gray morning and they all wondered how they would fare
The old general told them to go home
He said, "I have seen the others and I have discovered
That this fight is not worth fighting
Oh and I've seen their mothers
And I will no other to follow me where I'm going"
So take a shower and shine your shoes you got no time to lose
You are young men you must be living, yeah
Take a shower and shine your shoes you got no time to lose
You are young men you must be living, go now you are forgiven
Yeah and the men stood fast with their guns on their shoulders
Not knowing what to do with the contradicting orders
The general said, he would do his own duty but he would
Extend it no further the men could go as they pleased
But not a man moved, their eyes gazed straight ahead
Till one by one they stepped back and not a word was said
And the old general was left with his
Own words echoing in his head, he then prepared to fight
He said, "I have seen the others and I have discovered
That this fight is not worth fighting
Oh and I've seen their mothers
And I will no other to follow me where I'm going"
So take a shower and shine your shoes you got no time to lose
You are young men you must be living, yeah
Take a shower and shine your shoes you got no time to lose
You are young men you must be living, go now you are forgiven
Go now you are forgiven
Go now you are forgiven
Go now you are forgiven
Go
Go now you are forgiven
Go now you are forgiven
Go now you are forgiven
Go
Go now you are forgiven
Go now you are forgiven
Go now you are forgiven
Go
...
Lyrics submitted by dragonflower44, edited by taramae88
Track duration: 04:05
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The real meaning is more of a story, when a general dreamt of the devastation war caused the night before a battle. He has been in many wars, killed many people, and he thought he was war, and he couldnt be anything else. When the men were waiting for orders, he told them to go home, live a life without war, and he will go into battle by himself to die, because he feels he has no other purpose in life to kill, so he decides to kill himself so no others will die. when the soldiers hear the order, they didn't know whether do as he say or as he do, and decide to do as he say and watch and the general goes into battle (his suicide) by himself to make sure that no one else dies because of his infantry.
the chorus is his orders, and his dream that prompted his to his realization. the second part "take a shower, shine your shoes...go now you are forgiven" IS the general telling them to live a life meant for them, peacefully, and also saying that is you leave before this battle, god will forgive you and you would be "cursed" like he is
And yeah, it's probably an anti-war message as well. But I would find it hard to believe that Dispatch DIDN'T think about Jesus and his crucifixion when writing this song.
From en.wikipedia.org/wiki/…
In The Best of Dispatch, a book containing guitar and voice transcriptions of selected Dispatch songs, Chad Urmston describes "The General":
“ This was our anti-war song. Although it was primarily based on the Civil War, the message was not confined to that particular conflict. We were too young to be directly involved in the Gulf War; nevertheless, the sense of a troubled history rings loud in the heads of young men who grow up listening to grandfathers or fathers recount war stories. The crowd response to this song always blew us away. Some said it had a "Castles Made of Sand" feel - any reference to Hendrix we took gladly. "
You also don't necessarily have to be a messiah to say "you are forgiven."
Thanks for reading; leave your meaning
And I have discovered
That this fight is not worth fighting
And I have seen their mothers
And I will not order, to follow me where I'm going "
I think when the general says he's seen the "others", he's talking about his past soldiers that he has lost, he's seen their mothers suffer, and doesn't want that to happen again.
I know a lot of people are saying they think the "others" as the enemy, but that would be contradicting to this when he "prepares to fight" at the end of the song.
Awesome soothing songg.
The old general is a father figure who wants something better for his soldiers. Doesn't want them to die a meaningless death. However, the soldiers choose to fight anyway and the general is left feeling foolish.
It shows the paradox of parenthood, you want to give your children a better life than yours, but its best to let them make their own choices.