The title of U2’s 1983 album “War” is self-explanatory. The entire disc is a compilation of songs that protest the wrong-doings and tragedies of war. With song titles such as “The Refugee” and “Surrender”, it is full of lyrics that make you think about the horrific things that happen in war. The album is a documentation mainly of the troubles in Northern Ireland during the 1980’s. The first song on the album is “Sunday Bloody Sunday”, the most profound example of anti-war activism within U2’s music. The song is a seemingly rock ballad against a military style drum beat. The lyrics speak of the Bloody Sunday incident in 1972 in which Irish civilians were shot by the British military in a brutal blood bath. The song made listeners aware without profiling U2 as radical protesters.
Throughout the album, a diverse combination of slow melody and harsh drum beats and guitar rifts can be heard. The songs “Seconds” and “New Years Day” both feature light melodies with thought-provoking (but not too thought-provoking) lyrics that quietly criticize the government and its ongoing wars. Nearing the end of the album, “Surrender” is lighter still. The lyrics talk of living on the streets and surviving poverty. In another direction, the song “The Refugee” has more of a punk-rock feel and again protests pointless fighting. It talks of a man going to war but “he don’t know what for”. While the songs of “War” can be completely different in melody, the purpose of their lyrics is the same: to promote awareness in Ireland and the world about the adversities of senseless wars.
Los Angeles punk-rock band Goldfinger may be only barely known for their own work, but are oppositely famous for their cover of German 1980s pop song. In the year 2000, Goldfinger recorded Nena’s “99 Luftballoons”, which translates in English into “99 Red Balloons”. The original song was a post-Cold War protest song. The original German song was extremely popular in Europe, and gained that same popularity in the United States; however, many Germans argued that the English translation of the song did not match up with the German. Although Nena is considered a one-hit-wonder band, both the German and English versions of “99 Red Balloons” are still played on U.S. radio today.
One of the most prominent poetic devices evident in “99 Red Balloons” is imagery. The title in itself is a great example. It is perfectly easy to picture dozens of red balloons floating in the sky. The song tells the story of a war-like reaction to ninety-nine balloons floating over the Berlin Wall, an allusion to the Cold War that was going on at this time. The song also alludes to the idea of a nuclear war, or World War III, happening. The line, “back at the base, bugs in the software” uses alliteration and also describes a military base recognizing the innocent red balloons as an attack. The line “panic lads, it’s a red alert” may also be an allusion to the Cold War and the “Red Scare”, or fear of communism, that was still going on in the United States.
In the fourth stanza, a “war machine” is personified as opening “one eager eye”. This is also symbolism of the world’s readiness to go to war at any time during this era. In the next stanza, the line “worry, worry, super-scurry/ call the troops out in a hurry” not only uses alliteration and rhyme, but also shows how one mistake in military radar can lead to an unnecessary panic. “The President is on the line/ as ninety-nine red balloons go by”, is ambiguous because “on the line” can either mean on a telephone line or on the line of fighting in war. The next line, “ninety-nine knights of the air/ riding super high-tech jet fighters”, uses imagery to portray military warfare. The song means to raise awareness of the dangers of war, not to glorify its equipment.
The last stanza of the lyrics read: “Now it’s all over and I’m standing pretty/ In this dust that was a city/ If I could find a souvenir/ Just to prove the world was here”. These last lines allude to the end of the world, or the so-called Apocalypse. The songwriter believes that nuclear warfare could be the cause of this. “Dust that was a city” uses imagery to show the destruction that war can result in. Nena’s purpose in creating this song was to make people aware of the threat of nuclear war during this time period. While many bands have covered this song over the years, Goldfinger’s version is significant because while it is sung in English, it also sings one verse in the original German.
Lyrics:
You and I, and a little toy shop
Buy a bag of balloons with the money we've got
Set them free at the break of dawn
'Til one by one, they were gone
Back at base, bugs in the software
Flash the message, "Some thing's out there"
Floating in the summer sky
Ninety-nine red balloons go by
Ninety-nine red balloons
Floating in the summer sky
Panic lads, it's a red alert
There's something here from somewhere else
The war machine springs to life
Opens up one eager eye
Focusing it on the sky
Ninety-nine red balloons go by
Ninety-nine Decision Street
Ninety-nine ministers meet
To worry, worry, super-scurry
Call the troops out in a hurry
This is what we've waiting for
This is it boys, this is war
The President is on the line
As ninety-nine red balloons go by
Ninety-nine knights of the air
Riding super high-tech jet fighters
Everyone's a super hero
Everyone's a Captain Kirk
With orders to identify, to clarify and classify
Scrambling in the summer sky
As ninety-nine red balloons go by
Ninety-nine red balloons go by
Ninety-nine dreams I have had
Every one a red balloon
Now it's all over and I'm standin' pretty
In this dust that was a city
If I could find a souvenir
Just to prove the world was here
And here is a red balloon
I think of you and let it go
Breakfast where the news is read
Television children fed
Unborn living, living, dead
Bullet strikes the helmet's head
And it's all over
For the unknown soldier
It's all over
For the unknown soldier
Hut
Hut
Hut ho hee up
Hut
Hut
Hut ho hee up
Hut
Hut
Hut ho hee up
Comp'nee
Halt
Preeee-zent!
Arms!
Make a grave for the unknown soldier
Nestled in your hollow shoulder
The unknown soldier
Breakfast where the news is read
Television children fed
Bullet strikes the helmet's head
And, it's all over
The war is over
It's all over
The war is over
Well, all over, baby
All over, baby
Oh, over, yeah
All over, baby
Wooooo, hah-hah
All over
All over, baby
Oh, woa-yeah
All over
All over
Heyy
U2, which began as four teenagers jamming in a basement, is now regarded as the “World’s Biggest Band”. The Irish rock group from Dublin has pushed the boundaries of rock for over thirty years, and still has plenty of great music to put out there. Their lyrics have mostly focused on political and social awareness, as seen in some of their albums, War, Under a Blood Red Sky, and The Unforgettable Fire. One of the most well known songs off of War is “Sunday Bloody Sunday”, a powerful combination of poetry and storytelling that portrayed the horrors caused by the dangerous civil rights movement going on in Northern Ireland at the time.
Although this song is obviously a political protest song, Bono, the lead singer of U2, always made sure to note that it was “not a rebel song”. The lyrics are made up of alliteration, imagery, a creative rhyme scheme, and much symbolism. The line “broken bottles under children’s feet” is a great example of both alliteration and imagery used together. In an even more slightly morbid imaging, the next line “bodies strewn across the dead end street” gives the listener a grim picture of the violence that took place in Northern Ireland during this time period. Bono uses figurative language when he says “I won’t heed the battle call”; this means that he will not submit and join everyone else with the violence. Ambiguity is found in the line “there’s many lost, but tell me who has won”. “Many lost” can mean either the number of people who has died or mean who has lost the battle. Figurative language is found again in the line “the trench is dug within our hearts”, seeing as a trench could not literally be dug into some one’s heart. The trench can be a symbol for the heartbreak being experienced because of the war. Throughout the song Bono asks, “how long must we sing this song?”, really meaning: how long will this violence last? The entire song is an allusion to the Bloody Sunday incident in Derry, a city in Northern Ireland, where civil rights protesters were viciously shot and killed by British troops. This protest song is more of a peace promoting song than an anti-war one.
“Sunday Bloody Sunday” is one of U2’s signature songs, as well as one of the most performed on stage. Its social relevance and political stand-points makes it one of the most celebrated protest songs of its generation. It is not just a metaphor for peace, but also was an eye-opener to many people living in that time period to the horrific events that were going on in the world. Bono even emphasized his yearning for peace in his live performances of the song, during which he wrapped a white flag around his body. This gesture became a symbol for U2’s reputation as a socially outspoken, peace-keeping musical act.
How long
How long, must we sing this song
How long
How long
'Cause tonight
We can be as one
Tonight
Broken bottles under children's feet
Bodies strewn across the dead end street
But I won't heed the battle call
It puts my back up
Puts my back up against the wall
And the battle's just begun
There's many lost, but tell me who has won
The trench is dug within our hearts
And mothers, children, brothers, sisters
Torn apart
Sunday, Bloody Sunday
Sunday, Bloody Sunday
How long
How long, must we sing this song
How long
How long
'Cause tonight
We can be as one
Tonight
Sunday, Bloody Sunday
Sunday, Bloody Sunday
Wipe the tears from your eyes
Wipe your tears away
Oh, wipe your tears away
Oh, wipe your tears away
Sunday, Bloody Sunday
Oh, wipe your blood shot eyes
Sunday, Bloody Sunday
And it's true we are immune
When fact is fiction and TV reality
And today the millions cry
We eat and drink while tomorrow they die
Sunday, Bloody Sunday
The real battle just begun
To claim the victory Jesus won
On
Van Morrison was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and grew up listening to his father’s collection of jazz records.
He learned to play the guitar, saxophone, and harmonica as a teen.
He dropped out of school at the age of 15 to join an R&B band as a saxophonist.
He achieved local, and eventually national, success for his band, Them, for hits like “Don’t Start Crying Now” and “Gloria”.
Morrison pursued a solo career and gained popularity. One of his well known songs is “Brown Eyed Girl”. The song was originally supposed to be titled “Brown Skinned Girl”, which would depict an interracial relationship, but it was changed to make it more playable for the radio in 60s.
His music style has ranged from jazz and strings to R&B to rock ‘n’ roll.
Morrison is actually a very introverted individual who rarely gives interviews, and finds it difficult to explain his own lyrics.
He stopped performing for a period of time because of frustration with manipulation in the music industry.
His various albums often reflected his spiritual beliefs at that particular time.
Morrison was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993.
He looks up to artists such as Ray Charles, Frank Sinatra and Jerry Lee Lewis.
Timeline
1945: Van Morrison is born as George Ivan Morrison in Belfast
1960: Morrison drops out of school to join the band the Monarchs
1965: Morrison’s band, Them, scores hit singles “Baby Please Don’t Go” and “Here Comes the Night”
1966: Them disbands after an unsuccessful U.S. tour
1967: Morrison’s solo career hit “Brown Eyed Girl” reaches the U.S. Top 10
1968: Morrison came out with Astral Weeks, still considered one of his most powerful works
1970: His next album, Moondance, had a more R&B sound, traded for his previous jazz and strings stye
1985: Morrison released A Sense of Wonder, which displayed his continuing spiritual journey
1993: Morrison is inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
1996: His song “Days Like This” is adopted as a peace anthem for Northern Ireland and Morrison receives an Order of the British Empire title
Present: Morrison’s body of work continues to grow and change today
Van Morrison is ultimately one of the most well-known and celebrated artists of his time. He can play a variety of instruments, including guitar, saxophone, and the harmonica. In addition to that, Morrison also has a talent as an emotionally evocative songwriter and poet. His songs frequently feature numerous poetic devices, both simple and sophisticated. This combination provides for a great understanding for the listener. Morrison’s songs are often really stories: told through poetry and set to a smooth jazz sound. While the majority of his songs exemplify Morrison’s love of poetry, “Madame George” is full of various poetic devices, from onomatopoeia to imagery.
“Madame George” starts off with a quick allusion to one of Morrison’s other well known songs, “Cyprus Avenue”. Morrison writes, “Down on Cyprus Avenue, with a childlike vision leaping into view”. This line also features personification, suggesting that a vision or idea can be “leaping” . The song proceeds to say “clicking, clacking of the high heeled shoe”, which is an example of onomatopoeia. The line of “Ford & Fitzroy, Madame George” shows the first of many uses of alliteration in the song. A simile takes form in the line, “the cool night air like Shalimar” , and also local color because of the mention of Shalimar, a town in Ireland, where Van Morrison is originally from. An example of imagery in the song comes from the line, “kids out in the street collecting bottle-tops”; it is easy to imagine children playing in a road looking around for bottle-tops. “Sitting on a sofa” is another example of alliteration, specifically of consonance. Another line, “On that train from Dublin up to Sandy Row”, shows yet even more of Morrison’s frequent use of local color. “The rain, hail, sleet, and snow” is also an example of imagery. You do not have to look hard to find the clear use of poetic devices in Morrison’s writing.
“Madame George” is just one of many Van Morrison songs that are known for the poetic writing style. He has known to influence more modern artists such as Bruce Springsteen, the Counting Crows, and Elvis Costello. Although he has a reputation for being introverted, gruff, and stubborn, Morrison’s songwriting has the essence of a soulful man who dreams of love. He refused to let critics pin-point his religious beliefs through his music, but his writing always had a mystic and spiritual feel. It is said that one of his major themes in writing was the healing power of music. Van Morrison can be argued to be the best musical poet of his generation.
