For the last few days I've been
somewhat-guiltily avoiding the coverage of the Syria situation, making do with
stolen earfuls from Radio 4 in the morning before switching over to something
less weighty. After the nuclear weekend of Reading and Leeds, it’s taken this
old dog a few days to get back into the swing of things so I've been
distracting myself with my newly-acquired Netflix and being earth-shatteringly
un-fussed about Miley Cyrus looking a bit daft on the telly. But last night's
defeat of David Cameron in the House of Commons, and today's fallout from that,
has shaken me out of my Twerk-induced reverie and I've spent the past couple of
hours catching up on the details. I wouldn't feel comfortable waxing lyrical on
the specifics of global military responsibility in this particular fray, but I
can certainly say that I was as pleased as punch to see the House of Commons
voting against our involvement in it.
From what I've seen, the focus of the media
analysis tends to be on the back-bench discord rather than the global ramifications
of the decision. Today I've heard more talk of the 'high emotions' and
red-faces in Parliament and the subsequent implications for the Labour vs Tory
punch-up than of high-tech military conflict and the potential deaths of
thousands of human beings. Cameron's half-salesman-like, half-pouty synopsis
that 'it is clear to me that the British parliament, reflecting the views
of the British people, does not want to see British military action' comes
across as oddly like that thing shamed celebrities do when they say 'I apologise
to those who were offended'. International War's place in this domestic game
of political one-upsmanship is almost farcical, like some dream you’d have on Christmas evening after
watching The Thick of it followed by Dr Strangelove then falling into a
deep pudding-fueled sleep.
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| "Gentlemen, you can't fight in here. This is the War Room!" |
But, for a lot of us, this is a big day. One doesn't want to overstate the
magnitude of it, but last time the British people didn't want to go to war, at
all, we did anyway. We remember the protests on telly, the statistics against
the war, the 'sexing up' of documents. Hell, many of us remember marching
against our military involvement in America's Crusade ourselves and it didn't
change a thing. The worst feeling at that time was the sense of hopelessness,
the loss of democracy. If the nation would have been all for it, while you
personally against it, it would have been one thing but it was quite another
when the Government openly ignored the will of the people and plunged our money
and soldiers into a warzone.
Today, not so. Even if the result of the vote was more the positive outcome of a decidedly political spat than a true manifestation of the 'will of the people', today brings a sense of hope. But hope for what? Hopefully it’s that after the lessons of the past decade, our leaders are going to think twice about running our young men and women on global military errands that the populous is against. This brings me nicely to answering a question that I've avoided answering for some time. I could never quite find the words. I could never quite establish a way to write what the song is about without potentially offending people. Without potentially offending soldiers. Which is perhaps why 'Gary Got a Gun' is a song, not a blog, in the first place.
Some of our fans in the armed forces have been irked by the song. Some of them have alluded to it in Facbeook posts, others have written candid and interesting arguments and accounts of their military experience. Ex-sqaddie Philip Mudhir sent me a very convincing litany of why soldiers are heroes. So, even if I can't please everyone with this blog, I can at least offer a response to those asking for clarity.
First things first, and sorry to be a pretentious artist, but ultimately the lyrics mean what you take from them. The song is the song and is going to be there a lot longer than this blog. If someone hears 'Gary' as a song that laments the hopelessness and injustice of our government sending young men out to die in wars that the country is against because they don't have that much to do with us, you're probably on the right lines. If you hear it as a pointed finger and a shrug of the shoulders towards the newspapers and TV stations that oppose our country's military actions while glorifying our army you're even nearer where I was coming from. But if you hear it as a direct criticism to those who choose to join the ranks of an army knowing that they will have to obey orders that do not stand up to the scrutiny of their own morals then that's how you hear it. I don't know that I ever meant to say that a soldier isn't a 'hero' but rhyming it with 'amount to zero' on the next line certainly presents that implication. Lyrics, by their nature, are open to interpretation. I only hope that our government's refusal to be drawn into another war last night can put the context of the song somewhat into the past tense and even lend a little credence to the intention behind the song. Hopefully, now I can explain the song's genesis without being perceived as someone who, and I quote, ‘hates soldiers'.
Of course, when writing it, I knew the song would be contentious. It's such a massively contentious subject. But the only part of it that I can say has been actually misconstrued from my original intentions is that 'you amount to zero' line. I'm not saying that I think they amount to zero. I'm saying that with the flimsy justification we went following America into military action over the last dozen years, it's questionable that the lives of soldiers are worth very much more than that to those that are sending them into war.
Today, not so. Even if the result of the vote was more the positive outcome of a decidedly political spat than a true manifestation of the 'will of the people', today brings a sense of hope. But hope for what? Hopefully it’s that after the lessons of the past decade, our leaders are going to think twice about running our young men and women on global military errands that the populous is against. This brings me nicely to answering a question that I've avoided answering for some time. I could never quite find the words. I could never quite establish a way to write what the song is about without potentially offending people. Without potentially offending soldiers. Which is perhaps why 'Gary Got a Gun' is a song, not a blog, in the first place.
Some of our fans in the armed forces have been irked by the song. Some of them have alluded to it in Facbeook posts, others have written candid and interesting arguments and accounts of their military experience. Ex-sqaddie Philip Mudhir sent me a very convincing litany of why soldiers are heroes. So, even if I can't please everyone with this blog, I can at least offer a response to those asking for clarity.
First things first, and sorry to be a pretentious artist, but ultimately the lyrics mean what you take from them. The song is the song and is going to be there a lot longer than this blog. If someone hears 'Gary' as a song that laments the hopelessness and injustice of our government sending young men out to die in wars that the country is against because they don't have that much to do with us, you're probably on the right lines. If you hear it as a pointed finger and a shrug of the shoulders towards the newspapers and TV stations that oppose our country's military actions while glorifying our army you're even nearer where I was coming from. But if you hear it as a direct criticism to those who choose to join the ranks of an army knowing that they will have to obey orders that do not stand up to the scrutiny of their own morals then that's how you hear it. I don't know that I ever meant to say that a soldier isn't a 'hero' but rhyming it with 'amount to zero' on the next line certainly presents that implication. Lyrics, by their nature, are open to interpretation. I only hope that our government's refusal to be drawn into another war last night can put the context of the song somewhat into the past tense and even lend a little credence to the intention behind the song. Hopefully, now I can explain the song's genesis without being perceived as someone who, and I quote, ‘hates soldiers'.
Of course, when writing it, I knew the song would be contentious. It's such a massively contentious subject. But the only part of it that I can say has been actually misconstrued from my original intentions is that 'you amount to zero' line. I'm not saying that I think they amount to zero. I'm saying that with the flimsy justification we went following America into military action over the last dozen years, it's questionable that the lives of soldiers are worth very much more than that to those that are sending them into war.
And that song's been done a million times, many times much more articulately than I
could ever hope to achieve. But that's not where the idea of the song came from.
The impetus behind this song was an article in a
certain Red Top newspaper that distinguished itself from the other Red Tops
post-2001 by centralising itself politically and making its views against the
military action in Afghanistan and Iraq clear. While the other tabloids
were remaining obsequious to our colonial overlords and contrite in their 'support
for our boys', would moving into an anti-war editorial for this newspaper
provoke a shift in perspective towards our soldiers? The answer was, of course, no. Far from avoiding the issue, their tone remained at the least, supportive
and encouraging, and at the most, celebratory, lionising and downright
patronising. And when presented with an interview with the grieving mother of
another brave and valiant 19-year-old soldier, decrying his pointless loss of
life in a war we didn't even need to be in, I was wary of the editorial
tight-rope the paper was balanced upon. We hate the war. We love the soldiers.
This point of view is commonly expressed as 'against the war, for the troops'. I understand that stance. I understand where it comes from. Joining the army shouldn't have to mean that you're sent to do stuff that you are inherently against. Those decisions are not a soldier’s job. But, taken literally, can it be anything other than lip service? I've got to say it... if you're against what the military have been asked to do for the last 12 years, how can you in good conscience encourage someone to join the army? The fact remains that to implicate soldiers as having any responsibility for choosing a line of work where they will have to unquestioningly follow the questionable orders of their superiors is still terribly taboo.
This point of view is commonly expressed as 'against the war, for the troops'. I understand that stance. I understand where it comes from. Joining the army shouldn't have to mean that you're sent to do stuff that you are inherently against. Those decisions are not a soldier’s job. But, taken literally, can it be anything other than lip service? I've got to say it... if you're against what the military have been asked to do for the last 12 years, how can you in good conscience encourage someone to join the army? The fact remains that to implicate soldiers as having any responsibility for choosing a line of work where they will have to unquestioningly follow the questionable orders of their superiors is still terribly taboo.
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| Our brave and heroic boy, whose actions we don't agree with. |
Policemen were open to scrutiny. Teachers were, NHS staff were. We all know
that priests were. But in the mid-noughties soldiers, as a whole, were still
treated in even anti-war papers with a kind of detached reverence. Just like
'the gun thing' in America, people were afraid to go there. If it's Emperor’s
New Clothes, I just wanted to be that kid and point at it. I'm not saying that
the papers should be attacking and criticising soldiers every single day. I'm
saying if they were openly critical of the way our country was using
our military, it was somewhat duplicitous to have anti-war editorials on one page
then advertisements for 'Be The Best' and talk of being a hero on the next. The
caricature of a soldier as an unthinking heroic drone, ready to deploy his
orders for a government he devotedly loves, is as insulting to the soldiers
themselves as it is to the reader. If discussion about the
responsibilities, duties and opinions of soldiers was less controversial, would there be
more pressure on the people making the decisions using them as collateral
in the courtship of our Special Relationship with the US in situations like
Afghanistan? I wasn't talking about soldiers questioning orders; I was talking
about bursting the subservient media bubble that existed around the discussion of soldiers. And I was questioning the strong influence that subservience can have on the decisions of young men and women thinking about starting
a career in the very organisation the newspaper purported to oppose the behaviour of.
So, hopefully I’ve explained where I was coming from and maybe we can put this to bed. Perhaps, if only for today, our army is once again our army. And hopefully last night signifies a sea-change in the UK, and our spiritual, and literal, compasses can re-align towards endeavours that are less morally suspect or at least more democratic in their scope. Of course soldiers can be heroes, and I believe that the vast majority of them join the army to be heroes, to protect and serve their country. I respect them. I just don't think that a lot of what they've been sent to do over the last 13 years has been, in a moral sense, very heroic and I think as much as anything, that's an injustice to them.
Until The Sunlight Comes...
Barney x
Gary Got a Gun (P.Barnes)
Gary got a gun, a camouflage uniform and a journey to a strange land,
Never even saw the eyes of the man whose shot left him bleeding into the sand
Out in the headlines they call him ‘hero’
But if they can send you to war just to settle a score then I’m sorry my friend you amount to zero
It was his life-long dream
Wanted to “Be the Best” like it said on the screen
So it’s straight into the infantry age of 18
6 months later takes a bullet for the team
Shot him down
Insurgent with a gun in an occupied town
Shot him down
And he’s hit in the side hour later he died and he’s homebound
All he ever knew
Was to follow through
Any order they would ask for him to do
Any place that they would choose to send him into.
Gary got a gun, a camouflage uniform and a journey to a strange land,
Never even saw the eyes of the man whose shot left him bleeding into the sand
Out in the headlines they call him ‘hero’
But if they can send you to war just to settle a score then I’m sorry my friend you amount to zero
And so the story goes
The photos of the troops and our super heroes
But every tribute to the boys it just propagate the lie
Of course he’s fucking brave if you’re sending him to die
Shot him down
A nineteen year old kid with an average background
Shot him down
The story should be “why the hell was he there in the first place?”
All he ever knew
Was to follow through
Any order they would ask for him to do
Anywhere that they would choose to send him into.
Gary got a gun, a camouflage uniform and a journey to a strange land,
Never even saw the eyes of the man whose shot left him bleeding into the sand
Out in the headlines they call him ‘hero’
But if they can send you to war just to settle a score then I’m sorry my friend you amount to zero
And poor old mum
Hangs his photo in the hall
And all the words they printed
They do not help at all
Gary got a gun, a camouflage uniform and a journey to a strange land,
Never even saw the eyes of the man whose shot left him bleeding into the sand
Out in the headlines they call him ‘hero’
But if they can send you to war just to settle a score then I’m sorry my friend you amount to zero
The worth that they gave to your premature grave was zero
If they can send you to war just to settle a score you amount to zero
If they can send you to war just to settle a score you amount to zero
If they can send you to war does it mean any more now they call you hero?
So, hopefully I’ve explained where I was coming from and maybe we can put this to bed. Perhaps, if only for today, our army is once again our army. And hopefully last night signifies a sea-change in the UK, and our spiritual, and literal, compasses can re-align towards endeavours that are less morally suspect or at least more democratic in their scope. Of course soldiers can be heroes, and I believe that the vast majority of them join the army to be heroes, to protect and serve their country. I respect them. I just don't think that a lot of what they've been sent to do over the last 13 years has been, in a moral sense, very heroic and I think as much as anything, that's an injustice to them.
Until The Sunlight Comes...
Barney x
Gary Got a Gun (P.Barnes)
Gary got a gun, a camouflage uniform and a journey to a strange land,
Never even saw the eyes of the man whose shot left him bleeding into the sand
Out in the headlines they call him ‘hero’
But if they can send you to war just to settle a score then I’m sorry my friend you amount to zero
It was his life-long dream
Wanted to “Be the Best” like it said on the screen
So it’s straight into the infantry age of 18
6 months later takes a bullet for the team
Shot him down
Insurgent with a gun in an occupied town
Shot him down
And he’s hit in the side hour later he died and he’s homebound
All he ever knew
Was to follow through
Any order they would ask for him to do
Any place that they would choose to send him into.
Gary got a gun, a camouflage uniform and a journey to a strange land,
Never even saw the eyes of the man whose shot left him bleeding into the sand
Out in the headlines they call him ‘hero’
But if they can send you to war just to settle a score then I’m sorry my friend you amount to zero
And so the story goes
The photos of the troops and our super heroes
But every tribute to the boys it just propagate the lie
Of course he’s fucking brave if you’re sending him to die
Shot him down
A nineteen year old kid with an average background
Shot him down
The story should be “why the hell was he there in the first place?”
All he ever knew
Was to follow through
Any order they would ask for him to do
Anywhere that they would choose to send him into.
Gary got a gun, a camouflage uniform and a journey to a strange land,
Never even saw the eyes of the man whose shot left him bleeding into the sand
Out in the headlines they call him ‘hero’
But if they can send you to war just to settle a score then I’m sorry my friend you amount to zero
And poor old mum
Hangs his photo in the hall
And all the words they printed
They do not help at all
Gary got a gun, a camouflage uniform and a journey to a strange land,
Never even saw the eyes of the man whose shot left him bleeding into the sand
Out in the headlines they call him ‘hero’
But if they can send you to war just to settle a score then I’m sorry my friend you amount to zero
The worth that they gave to your premature grave was zero
If they can send you to war just to settle a score you amount to zero
If they can send you to war just to settle a score you amount to zero
If they can send you to war does it mean any more now they call you hero?
Very well put, great track.
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