Us and them
and after all we're only ordinary men
me and you
God only knows it's not what we would choose to do
This is saying that the people you fight against in a war aren't really evil...we're all just ordinary men. We wouldn't choose to fight, but we have to in order to defend our countries.
forward he cried from the rear
and the front rank died
and the General sat, and the lines on the map
moved from side to side
The people who start the war give orders, but aren't out there doing the fighting. Human beings are dying on the whims of the generals, but the generals are detached from that fact because they sit in cushy offices just watching the lines on the map going side to side. The lines are moving side to side because people are dying.
Black and blue
and who knows which is which and who is who
I think this is saying that who is right and who is wrong is really a subjective idea. Both sides believe they are doing what is right.
up and down
and in the end it's only round and round and round
I'm not sure about this line, but my guess is that it means you have victories and defeats, but in the end, you're just watching people die over and over again.
haven't you heard it's a battle of words
the poster bearer cried
Protesters saying that war is all about propaganda.
listen, son, said the man with the gun
there's room for you inside
Recruiters trying to lure people into joining the fight.
Down and out
it can't be helped but there's a lot of it about
with, without
and who'll deny it's what the fighting's all about
There is a lot of poverty in the world and all war is really just about wanting more money/land.
out of the way, it's a busy day
I've got things on my mind
for want of the price of tea and a slice
the old man died
I'm not sure about this part either. Maybe that people become so detached from their emotions after fighting for awhile that they go crazy and will kill over any little thing.
hey man. This last part is about an ex soldier. I like to think this song was about WW1 as a lot of the lyrics fit the bill. Us and them, being ordinary, being ordered to attack from the rear, the front rank dying, they wouldn't want to do it, who is who, which is which (trench systems were constantly fucked etc). They wrote a song 'when the tigers broke free' about WW2 so this being a song about WW1 is within reason. Anyway, I think this is about an ex soldier, he is now an old man brushed aside...
hey man. This last part is about an ex soldier. I like to think this song was about WW1 as a lot of the lyrics fit the bill. Us and them, being ordinary, being ordered to attack from the rear, the front rank dying, they wouldn't want to do it, who is who, which is which (trench systems were constantly fucked etc). They wrote a song 'when the tigers broke free' about WW2 so this being a song about WW1 is within reason. Anyway, I think this is about an ex soldier, he is now an old man brushed aside and forgotten about. The war has left him in misfortune even after everything he went through as described in the song; I think the line is ' listen son, said the man with the gun, there's room for you this side' as opposed to 'inside'. I think this refers to him as a boy being recruited to fight in the great war with someone older, perhaps someone he relies on in the trenches telling him to stand beside him to prepare for an attack. now an old man, brushed aside by a society who never knew about it. He's 'down and out' and he's left on the street. All he wants to ask of people is for change, 'asking the price for tea and a slice' is a metaphor or perhaps literal. He is just trying to get by, but withers and dies with old age without a soul to care for him. 'out of the way, its a busy day, i've got things on my mind'. people believed their seemingly trivial problems are too great to spare time or money for an old man.
Us and them and after all we're only ordinary men me and you God only knows it's not what we would choose to do
This is saying that the people you fight against in a war aren't really evil...we're all just ordinary men. We wouldn't choose to fight, but we have to in order to defend our countries.
forward he cried from the rear and the front rank died and the General sat, and the lines on the map moved from side to side
The people who start the war give orders, but aren't out there doing the fighting. Human beings are dying on the whims of the generals, but the generals are detached from that fact because they sit in cushy offices just watching the lines on the map going side to side. The lines are moving side to side because people are dying.
Black and blue and who knows which is which and who is who
I think this is saying that who is right and who is wrong is really a subjective idea. Both sides believe they are doing what is right.
up and down and in the end it's only round and round and round
I'm not sure about this line, but my guess is that it means you have victories and defeats, but in the end, you're just watching people die over and over again.
haven't you heard it's a battle of words the poster bearer cried
Protesters saying that war is all about propaganda.
listen, son, said the man with the gun there's room for you inside
Recruiters trying to lure people into joining the fight.
Down and out it can't be helped but there's a lot of it about with, without and who'll deny it's what the fighting's all about
There is a lot of poverty in the world and all war is really just about wanting more money/land.
out of the way, it's a busy day I've got things on my mind for want of the price of tea and a slice the old man died
I'm not sure about this part either. Maybe that people become so detached from their emotions after fighting for awhile that they go crazy and will kill over any little thing.
hey man. This last part is about an ex soldier. I like to think this song was about WW1 as a lot of the lyrics fit the bill. Us and them, being ordinary, being ordered to attack from the rear, the front rank dying, they wouldn't want to do it, who is who, which is which (trench systems were constantly fucked etc). They wrote a song 'when the tigers broke free' about WW2 so this being a song about WW1 is within reason. Anyway, I think this is about an ex soldier, he is now an old man brushed aside...
hey man. This last part is about an ex soldier. I like to think this song was about WW1 as a lot of the lyrics fit the bill. Us and them, being ordinary, being ordered to attack from the rear, the front rank dying, they wouldn't want to do it, who is who, which is which (trench systems were constantly fucked etc). They wrote a song 'when the tigers broke free' about WW2 so this being a song about WW1 is within reason. Anyway, I think this is about an ex soldier, he is now an old man brushed aside and forgotten about. The war has left him in misfortune even after everything he went through as described in the song; I think the line is ' listen son, said the man with the gun, there's room for you this side' as opposed to 'inside'. I think this refers to him as a boy being recruited to fight in the great war with someone older, perhaps someone he relies on in the trenches telling him to stand beside him to prepare for an attack. now an old man, brushed aside by a society who never knew about it. He's 'down and out' and he's left on the street. All he wants to ask of people is for change, 'asking the price for tea and a slice' is a metaphor or perhaps literal. He is just trying to get by, but withers and dies with old age without a soul to care for him. 'out of the way, its a busy day, i've got things on my mind'. people believed their seemingly trivial problems are too great to spare time or money for an old man.