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This is a cross-university blog project between the University of South Carolina - Upstate and Clemson University for the Fall 2007 semester.
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15 comments:
Buffy Saint-Marie/Donovan – “Universal Soldier” (1964)
He’s 5 foot 2 and he’s 6 feet 4
He fights with missiles and with spears
He’s all of 31 and he’s only 17.
He’s been a soldier for a thousand years
He’s a catholic, a Hindu, an atheist, a Jane
A Bhuddist, and a Baptist and Jew.
And he knows he shouldn’t kill
And he knows he always will kill
You’ll for me my friend and me for you
And He’s fighting for Canada.
He’s fighting for France.
He’s fighting for the USA.
And he’s fighting for the Russians.
And he’s fighting for Japan
And he thinks we’ll put an end to war this way.
And He’s fighting for democracy,
He’s fighting for the reds
He says it’s for the peace of all.
He’s the one, who must decide,
who’s to live and who’s to die.
And he never sees the writing on the wall.
But without him,
how would Hitler have condemned him at Dachau?
Without him Caesar would have stood alone
He’s the one who gives his body
as a weapon of the war.
And without him all this killing can’t go on
He’s the universal soldier
And he really is the blame
His orders comes from
far away no more.
They come from him.
And you and me.
And brothers can’t you see.
This is not the way we put an end to war
Hey y’all-
This song seems like a message to the soldier. It begins by classifying the soldier, but it does so in a way which includes every soldier who’s ever fought in a war. The artists give the ages 17 to 31 which implies that the soldiers this message is aimed at are the grunts and field officers out in the trenches, and not the old generals behind their desks. Also, the song lists off a number of religions and nationalities to remind him that war is in fact universal. These adjectives serve to unite all soldiers, even those fighting against each other, in an attempt for peace. If the grunt soldiers of all armies become brothers and lay down their arms then there will be no war, no matter what their government may say. In my opinion the idea is a little too optimistic to be practical, but that is a characteristic of the anti-war/hippie counterculture so prevalent in the 1960’s.
-Ryan Need, 33
I think this is a true message, with out soilders, their would be no war. The only problem with this 'easy fix' is that there will always be influential leaders saying all you have to do is this, and everything will be ok, your family will be killed unless you kill these guys over here, or hey if there not around more land for you, more land for you more food for you family and it is going to be a long hard winter. Yes, no soilders, no war, but there will always be someone who thinks if they fight this war it will make things better, and if your country does not have peolple to fight against those people, then they will walk all over you, onto your land and do as they like. I think soilders everywhere are brave men, even if I do not support their cause. I beleive anyone who stands up for what they beleive in is worth respecting. The soilder can only fight when their are oppsing soilders, and there will always be those who oppse your way of live so strongly that they feel the must change you, and if you beleive so strongly you feel you must not be changed, then you must stand up for yourself. When you are not able to stand up for yourself, you have a soilder do it for you. Without soilders, leaders would stand alone, but what if that leader calls for a change that will bring about great good? The lyrics mention Hitler and the Communists, but what about Abraham Lincoln, what if he had had no soilders when he called for an end to slavery? It is easy to guide readers, or listeners into a certain way of thinking when you only give them your side. Yes, war is bad, and yes their are soilders from every age, religion, and nationality that are killed because the were soilders fighting a war they did not start, hoping that if this war can end peace will insue but that's always been the dream, huh? In a perfect world this song would be right, they would all be on the battle field and realize, hey we do not HAVE to fight... we could all just be friends instead, then the put down their weapons and they all shake hands, then go home to thier families, leaving the masterminds behind the war to squabble among themselves, till they either get over it, or fight it out them selves...In a perfect world, this would happen....In reality there will always be someone willing to kill for money, a leader pays you to fight and kill in an army, many will say ok, and start shooting, and if the other side does not step up, then anyone with money and intentions could rule an area. I beleive that it would be nice if there was no need for soilders, but there always will be a need for them. The 1960's hippie view is unrealistic, but when you've been at war as long as these people were, I guess any end to the war would some nice, no matter how unrealistic...
Leslee C. (35)
sup guys my name is daniel.... Well i like how the song is talking about many different years throughout time and history and how the soldier is always mentioned. Also no matter what happens to him he's the one that makes it all happen. I also like how they're saying that he's 31 but really only 17. It's showing that he has to grow up and act like he's not a teenager anymore but an aldult; and that he has to own up to his actions like one.
Hey Group!
My name is Nicole. I am a junior at Clemson. This is a song of protest of the war in Vietnam. She starts outs describing differences in soldiers; heights, ages, who and what they are fighting for. No matter these differences they all have one thing in common in which makes them a universal soldier; they kill people. She says “He knows he shouldn’t kill, and he knows he always will”. Throughout the song the writer is blaming the solider for not taking a stand. If he knows he should not be killing then he should stand up for that. She says “He’s the one who must decide, who’s to live and who’s to die. And he never sees the writing on the wall”. The soldiers believe that when they get orders to go and fight they have no other option and must do what they are told. The writer is saying that there is another option; refuse to fight. This war and the lives of other people are only in the hands of the soldier. They do not see that they are the one in control of this. At the end of the song, she is no longer blaming only the soldier. She is blaming “you and me”. She is saying that we cannot support what is going on. We are encouraging the soldiers and this will only keep them fighting. The way to end the war is not by fighting until there is a winner; it is by putting a stop to the fighting. She believes that we must all come together, soldiers included, to protest and put a stop to the killing. I do not understand the line, “how would Hitler have condemned him at Dachau? Without him Caesar would have stood alone”. What is the significance of these two events? What happened at Dachau?
-Nicole S, 21
Hey Guys!
My name is Nick and I'm a freshman at Clemson University. The song is not really my kind of style as it seems to have taken a very anti-war hippie stance. This has such a negative view on the view of soldiers, as it associates them with Hitler and Caesar, which built empires on the backs and deaths of many people. Furthermore, the title is very much important in that the artist has used the word universal to seperate themself even from the bias feeling of support for one's own country and its troops. The song is very much one of a bias nature probably that of the hippie movement during the 1960's.
By the way here is the website for the audio clip of the song, since it proved helpful in understanding the words a little better: http://www.mikewebb.org/audio.htm
I think that this song represents all soldiers everywhere. Even though they all have differences such as religion, backgrounds, origins, or motives for fighting, they are all the same. Without the soldiers, the wars and fighting wouldnt really exist. This song also shows that soldiers have to be responsible for war and are put under pressure. Like in the Vietnam War, some are only young boys ("he's only 17"),but have to go out there and make decisions and fight like men. I also think the song is against the Vietnam War. The writer expresses how the soldiers take the blame for their actions but they are only doing what they are told. However, they also can oppose the war and end all the fighting instead of continuing to kill each other.
Shanaria J. (30)
Hey group:
My name is Rachel Randall and I am an architecture student at Clemson. I really am not that knowledgeable in English, but I do enjoy class discussions, debates, and hearing others’ opinions. These lyrics of “Universal Soldier” are very strong lyrics. These lyrics read as poetry send a very intense message to the reader. The author pulls at emotional, sociological and national realms of reasoning. The main message is that every soldier, no matter the country they are fighting for, their age, or their background are all fighting, essentially, for the same cause. The message also mentions that “this is not the way we put an end to war.” Clearly, the author is sending an anti-war message, crafted by pulling at the readers emotions, creating sympathy, and then leaving the reader with the last powerful line. The author bundles each soldier and each war cause into one category, disregarding boundaries and segregations. This powerful text can send many messages to the reader, creating a heart-felt and meaningful lyrical prose.
Rachel Randall 60
Hey y’all-
From the comments above it seems like everyone has about the same interpretation of the song and its meaning. Still there were a lot of different ideas thrown out there, a lot of which didn’t occur to me during my first reading of the lyrics. Daniel, I thought your interpretation of the ages 17 and 31 was very interesting. I had taken those to mean that the universal soldier was somewhere between those ages, not that a 17 year-old soldier was forced by war to act as if he was 31. I think both explanations have merit to them, whether or not the artist intended the double meaning. Leslee, I liked the point you brought up about Abraham Lincoln needing soldiers to free black slaves during the Civil War. It casts soldiers in a positive light in a manner that any self-respecting American cannot argue with. It is easy to simply accept all the song’s negative example of soldiers and forget about all the good that soldiers are responsible for. There were a number of other comments from others of you which I also found enlightening, but these were the first two that caught my attention.
-Ryan Need, 33
Hey guys.. apologize for late post but.. This song describes the many different people who are involved in war and their reasons for fighting in the war. The 6'4" tall American soldier compared to the 5'2" Vietnamese combatant shows the obvious differences but the religious differences are hard to discover. Even after all these differences listed in the song, when it all comes down to it...there is no good reason for the conflict and death.
Tom K. (30)
Hey thanks ryan for that. Yea i liked the point that you put up though how the soldier was somewhere between 17 and 31 because that is true and i also like how u talk about the grunts of the war. The generals that sit behind the desk doesn't get recognition for it in the song. Leslee i like how u said how no matter how unrealistic it would be for a war to stop just like that would be nice, because it would be nice. well im out peace
Hello again,
We all pretty much have the same perspective on the song. We all agree that the writer is against the war and that she believes the only way to end the war is for the soldiers to stop fighting. Ryan, I like your idea about why she used the ages of 17 and 31. I had not thought about it like that, and your idea makes sense. Nick, I agree with you about being against the anti-war hippie stance. I am not necessarily for or against war, but either way I know that men and women are risking their lives for us and they need to be supported. Thank you for the link to the song. I tried to find it but I could not and now I have a much better feel for it.
Have a great day!
Nicole S. 21
Hey y'all-
I found this video on YouTube while looking for a website that had a free clip of Bob Marley's song War. I think both the video clip and the song's lyrics mimic the message in Universal Soldier. The video contains clips of riots and protests against the war as well as segments of news shows covering the war in Iraq. These provide a modern-day parallel to the anti-war protests during the 1960’s. In the song “War”, Marley states that war will continue until everyone is truly equal. The song opens with the lyrics, “Until the philosophy that holds one race superior and another inferior is finally and permanently discredited and abandoned, everywhere is war.” Just like the authors of Universal Soldier, Marley believes that equality between humans is the answer to ending war. It is interesting that two songs written in different time periods and during different wars carry almost exactly the same message. Here’s a link to the video on YouTube. Hope y’all enjoy it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQQ65k8EGn4
Sincerely,
Ryan Need, 33
Hello Group,
Ryan, your youtube video was a great idea and you were right about the parallel it has with “Universal Soldier”. I think “Universal Soldier” and Bob Marley’s song can be applied to any war. No matter what war we are in there are always going to be protests and people who think we should not be in it.
http://peoplesgeography.files.wordpress.com/2006/12/mr-fish-good-soldiers-in-a-bad-administration-and-war.gif
I found this image on Google that reminded me of the message in “Universal Soldier”. It is a picture of five soldiers and each individual soldier is labeled as a good guy. But together, they are labeled as bad guys. I think the writer of this cartoon is saying that each soldier has good intentions and is brave for fighting for our country, but together, they are killers. It goes along with the “Universal Soldier” in that the writer of the song is saying that soldiers are the bad guys in the war and some of the fault can be placed on them for not refusing to fight.
-Nicole S. 21
Hello Again!
Ryan, the you tube link was especially pertinent. It puts a lot into perspective about the topic and makes us think outside the box. I like how you compared the time periods and how writers have the same ideals about war. I think that the song conveys a great message considering that we all got the same ideas about the lyrics. I think it is great that this group is able to find so many different media that states the same message. And thanks to Nick who sent the audio lyrics. It is much easier to dissect the lyrics with the sound clip.
I found the lyrics to Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the USA” because it is a popular song that most everyone knows and can hear in their head. If only heard once, the lyrics could be thought of as pro-war lyrics. However, they are anti-war. I like how they are anti-war and pro-nation at the same time. There is nothing wrong with supporting the United States, but being against a certain cause. There is and can be a happy medium.
Rachel Randall 60
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