This morning my husband and I were sitting in the local Starbucks having our usual Sunday morning outing (he drinks coffee, I drink tea and we each find pastries to our liking) and we were listening to the various songs playing in the store. One caught our attention, titled "Bring the Boys Home" and Husband wondered out loud "Who's singing that?" "Freda Payne" I replied, remembering her songs (like "Band of Gold") being banned on Armed Forces Radio during the Vietnam War (ok, it was technically a "Conflict," but still, too many people died.)
I found it a bit eerie that last night I had been thinking of how much I had sung the song "Onward Christian Soldiers" as a child, because it was one of the first songs I learned as a child (besides "Jesus Loves Me" and excluding Christmas carols.) While I have nothing against the Salvation Army in terms of their humanitarian efforts, I remember that "Onward Christian Soldiers" became one of their anthems, if not their main anthem. (which I suppose befits a group calling itself an "Army.") I shudder at the lyrics of "Onward Christian Soldiers" now. So militant, so intolerant, so...."Un-Christ-like" in its sentiment. Sort of like the Crusades in the past and some of the current "Crusades" happening now.
As for Payne's song, yes, it's a sentiment I share now. I'm still amazed that it seems we as a nation learned nothing from the experiences in Vietnam. The only thing that should change in the lyrics is that now it is not just "boys" serving on the front lines in combat situations, it's "girls" as well. Which is another factor overlooked in the past. While certainly more men died in combat situations in Vietnam, there were female casualties on both sides, too. That is the face of war.
No comments:
Post a Comment