Art inspired by War

brbr
Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
Well, everyone knows war is ugly. Sometimes great beauty can emerge from it. Let's all share some art inspired by war. This was written and performed during Gulf War Part I by my favorite band Bad Religion. It is relevant once again. The song is entitled Heaven is Falling and it is off of Generator.











Heaven Is Falling

as I walk beneath the valley,

I shall fear no evil,

for thanks to King George and his rainbow cabinet,

today murder is legal



God I know that it's wrong,

to kill my brother for what he hasn't done,

and as the planes blacken the sky,

it sounds like heaven is falling,

it sounds like heaven is falling,

you promised me a new day a dawning

I've seen a thousand points of light,

like so many points of hatred, shame and horror



God I want to be a man,

but I don't want to die with a rifle in my hand,

and as the planes blacken....



well nothing here looks new to me,

but a score of mothers 'sons,

caught 'tween the devil and the deep blue sea
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 36
    aquafireaquafire Posts: 2,758member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by BR

    Let's all share some art inspired by war.







    Heaven Is Falling.......



    God I want to be a man,



    but I don't want to die with a rifle in my hand......



    Planes blacken the Sky...




    Why must we be doomed to repeat the same old mistakes..

    These two images say it for me.



    Picasso's " Guernica "











    MuCullin's " Shellshock " ( Vietnam GI )





  • Reply 2 of 36
    drewpropsdrewprops Posts: 2,321member
    Aquafire beat me to Guernica.

    Saw it in person.....just "WOW".
  • Reply 3 of 36
    scottscott Posts: 7,431member
    Another anti-American thread?
  • Reply 4 of 36
    aquafireaquafire Posts: 2,758member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Scott

    Another anti-American thread?



    Scott, No.

    Not for me anyway.

    I am a painter and am deeply touched by the raw savage power of Guernica.



    As to the image of "shellshock" it's really personal because it reminds me of me.

    As it could have been me in Vietnam 72.

    Luckily for me, our government withdrew from Vietnam days before I got my marching orders to go. Other mates of mine weren't so lucky.

    Good mates too. Guys my age.



    So when I look at Donald's Photograph, I am haunted because that guy looks like me.& it just could so easily have been me..



    If truth be told, I've seen that look on the faces of Vet's even now after all these years, some of them still get that look...its beyond words



    So for me Scott, it's not Anti American...



    For me it's about reminders & a prayer of thanks

    \
  • Reply 5 of 36
    brbr Posts: 8,395member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Scott

    Another anti-American thread?



    Blow it out your ass Scott. I'm fed up with your bullshit. You may not like the politics of the song but THAT IS NOT WHAT THIS IS ABOUT. If you cannot see the beauty of how the words are arranged you are a ****ing moron. This is art appreciation so cut the crap.
  • Reply 6 of 36
    powerdocpowerdoc Posts: 8,123member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by BR

    Blow it out your ass Scott. I'm fed up with your bullshit. You may not like the politics of the song but THAT IS NOT WHAT THIS IS ABOUT. If you cannot see the beauty of how the words are arranged you are a ****ing moron. This is art appreciation so cut the crap.



    tsss, tsss, ... you have the right to express your opinion , the right to be annoyed, but not the right to insults others members.



    Thanks in advance 8)
  • Reply 7 of 36
    bungebunge Posts: 7,329member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by BR

    If you cannot see the beauty of how the words are arranged you are a ****ing moron.



    I hate to interject, but even if he can see the beauty of how the words are arranged, him might still be a '****ing moron.'
  • Reply 8 of 36
    fellowshipfellowship Posts: 5,038member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by BR

    Blow it out your ass Scott. I'm fed up with your bullshit. You may not like the politics of the song but THAT IS NOT WHAT THIS IS ABOUT. If you cannot see the beauty of how the words are arranged you are a ****ing moron. This is art appreciation so cut the crap.



    BR You have a view as does Scott. I fail to see how you gain by using hateful insults towards scott or anyone else for that matter. Your post quoted above is not needed in a public forum.



    Fellowship
  • Reply 9 of 36
    fellowshipfellowship Posts: 5,038member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by bunge

    I hate to interject, but even if he can see the beauty of how the words are arranged, him might still be a '****ing moron.'



    bunge that is cute and all but please have a minimum level of maturity. Implied insults are not welcome here at AI.



    I will log out as my virtual mod role now but I can't help but notice the hatred.



    Please adhear to respect or don't say anything.



    Fellowship
  • Reply 10 of 36
    powerdocpowerdoc Posts: 8,123member
    I'll bet that the last three posts where made simultaneously .



    Otherwise, i will be glad, if the members let the mod due their duties when they are online.



    Thanks in advance.
  • Reply 11 of 36
    powerdocpowerdoc Posts: 8,123member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Powerdoc

    I'll bet that the last three posts where made simultaneously .



    Otherwise, i will be glad, if the members let the mod due their duties when they are online.



    Thanks in advance.




    PS : Bunge i did not understand well your last sentance, i fear that it was also agains the guidelines. It will be cool if people helped these forums to stay nice.
  • Reply 12 of 36
    brbr Posts: 8,395member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by FellowshipChurch iBook

    BR You have a view as does Scott. I fail to see how you gain by using hateful insults towards scott or anyone else for that matter. Your post quoted above is not needed in a public forum.



    Fellowship




    If you think I'm a troll, Scott is ten times worse. He'll invade any thread and call anyone anti-american at any time for any reason. It's ridiculous and I'm ****ing fed up with it. I know a lot of other people are too. Of course, it's ironic that you advocate not making remarks in public but decide to rebuke me in public for it. Real nice.





    Back on topic, here is another beautiful song by Bad Religion.



    News From the Front

    Blood is a river,

    Flowing darkly amidst the tangled roots of the tall shining city

    Crazy flowing mantide migrations

    Engorge the big ventricle of heartbroken America

    So many heaven hoping, hopeful groping breathers

    All tap together quietly and desperately in unison

    Hey, hey, hey, is anybody listening?



    News from the front

    News from the front

    We're living in troubled times

    So many fighting for their lives

    Why do the troops despise the news from the front?



    Ignorance is the root of fear

    Fear is the kindling of anger

    War is the bringer of shame

    But never has the burden lain so heavily upon the victim

    Rage and desolation

    Pain and loneliness

    Isn't it all alarmingly familiar?

    Hey, hey, hey, silence is a killer.



    News from the front

    News from the front

    Yeah these are troubled times

    How many more will have to die

    Before the governors can't deny the news from the front?



    Break down the barriers, ally the carriers,

    What is your motivation? Take a good look in the mirror



    News from the front

    News from the front

    So many are fighting for their lives

    How many more will have to die?

    Why does the government decry the news from the front?
  • Reply 13 of 36
    brbr Posts: 8,395member
    And one more before I head off to a job fair...



    New America

    Do you know the cost of future misery?

    Have you lost your sense of sustainability?

    We are just a step away

    From realizing what we strive to be

    But we've got to break out

    From this insulated, blind and lame senility

    Wake up the new america wo-oh!

    Transcend the mass hysteria wo-oh!

    Change is the thing you're wary of wo-oh!

    We need a new america wo-oh!

    Laurels, human triumph

    Bestowments from the past

    Victories don't mean a thing

    If they don't last

    We are just marching toward extinction

    With blinders on our eyes

    Jeopardizing everything

    We've learned and come to realize

    You call that wise?


    Open your eyes america wo-oh!

    See through the lies they tell to us wo-oh!

    Confront the fears that worry us wo-oh!

    We need a new america wo-oh!

    We don't have to be afraid to re-invent

    We've got to start to build

    Progress and implement

    For when we take our fill

    And never pay the price

    We only build ourselves

    A fleeting, false paradise


    You can live in staunch denial

    And mark me as your enemy

    But I'm just a voice among the throng

    Who want a brighter destiny

    They say with me

    We are the new america wo-oh!

    This is the new america? Wo-oh
  • Reply 14 of 36
    brbr Posts: 8,395member
    And one more thing...



    Catch 22 by Joseph Heller. It is an excellent novel and I suggest that anyone who has not read it pick up a copy.
  • Reply 15 of 36
    enaena Posts: 667member
    The Big Parade

    10,000 Maniacs

    Jerome Augustyniak/Natalie Merchant







    Detroit to D.C. night train, Capitol, parts East.

    Lone young man takes a seat.

    And by the rhythm of the rails, reading all his mother's mail from a city boy in a jungle town postmarked Saigon.

    He'll go live his mother's dream, join the slowest parade he'll ever see.

    Her weight of sorrows carried long and carried far.

    "Take these, Tommy, to The Wall."



    Metro line to the Mall site with a tour of Japanese.

    He's wandering and lost until a vet in worn fatigues takes him down to where they belong.

    Near a soldier, an ex-Marine with a tattooed dagger and eagle trembling, he bites his lip beside a widow breaking down.

    She takes her Purple Heart, makes a fist, strikes The Wall.

    All come to live a dream, to join the slowest parade they'll ever see.

    Their weight of sorrows carried long and carried far, taken to The Wall.



    It's 40 paces to the year that he was slain.

    His hand's slipping down The Wall for it's slick with rain.

    How would life have ever been the same if this wall had carved in it one less name?

    But for Christ's sake, he's been dead over 20 years.

    He leaves the letters asking, "Who caused my mother's tears, was it Washington or the Viet Cong?"

    Slow deliberate steps are involved.

    He takes them away from the black granite wall toward the other monuments so white and clean.



    O, Potomac, what you've seen.

    Abraham had his war too, but an honest war.

    Or so it's taught in school.
  • Reply 16 of 36
    scottscott Posts: 7,431member
    No postings of the art and poetry that's now allowed after the US/UK/Aussies/Pols/nottheFrench freed the artists in Iraq from Saddam?
  • Reply 17 of 36
    enaena Posts: 667member
    Lost Children

    G. Lightfoot



    Down the hall their voices ring, their feet are on the run.

    Phantoms on the winter sky, together they do come.

    Faded lips and eyes of blue they're carried in the wind.

    Their laughter filled the countryside but they'll not laugh again.

    All the games are ended now, their voices have been stilled.

    Their fathers built the tools of war by which they all were killed.

    Their fathers made the uniforms showing which side they were on

    and the young boys were the middle men for the guns to pray upon.

    You've seen the fires in the night, watched the devil as he smiles.

    You've heard a mother's mournful cry as she searches for her child.

    You've seen the lines of refugees, the faces of despair

    and wondered at the wise men who never seem to care.

    Goodbye you lost children, God speed you on your way.

    Your little beds are empty now, your toys are put away.

    Your mother sings a lullaby as she gazes at the floor.

    Your father builds more weapons and marches out once more.

    Down the hall their voices ring, their feet are on the run.

    Phantoms on the winter sky, together they do come.

    Faded lips and eyes of blue they're carried in the wind.

    Their laughter filled the countryside but they'll not laugh again.
  • Reply 18 of 36
    709709 Posts: 2,016member
    Blah. I think BR started a fine thread that had the potential to be very interesting. Now look what you've done. This is why we can't have nice things.



    Someone much older and smarter than I said something to the effect that 'oppression produces the best art'.



    Even if it's not true, I believe it.........I must be American.
  • Reply 19 of 36
    thuh freakthuh freak Posts: 2,664member
    for war, I'm partial to Robert Zimmerman. I particularly like how ol' Bob follows `master', a person who is even beyond Jesus' infinite forgiveness, to his grave, and stands above with contemptuous and determined anger.



    Quote:

    Originally written/sung by our lord, Robert Zimmerman

    Come you masters of war

    You that build the big guns

    You that build the death planes

    You that build all the bombs

    You that hide behind walls

    You that hide behind desks

    I just want you to know I can see through your masks.



    You that never have done nothin' but build to destroy

    You play with my world like it's your little toy

    You put a gun in my hand then you hide from my eyes

    Then you turn and run farther when the fast bullets fly



    Like Judas of old you lie and deceive

    A world war can't be won, and you want me to believe

    But I see through your eyes and I see through your brain

    Like I see through the water that runs down my drain



    You that fasten all the triggers for the others to fire

    Then you sit back and watch while the death count gets higher

    You hide in your mansions while the young people's blood

    Flows out of their bodies and gets buried in the mud



    You've thrown the worst fear that can ever be hurled

    Fear to bring children into the world

    For threatening my baby, unborn and unnamed

    You ain't worth the blood that runs in your veins



    How much do I know to talk out of turn

    You might say that I'm young, you might say I'm unlearned

    But there's one thing I know, though I'm younger than you

    Even Jesus would never forgive what you do



    Let me ask you one question: is your money that good?

    Will it buy you forgiveness? Do you think that it could?

    I think you will find when your death takes its toll

    All the money you made won't ever buy back your soul



    And I hope that you die and your death will come soon

    I'll follow your casket through the pale afternoon

    And I'll watch while you're lowered into your death bed

    Then I'll stand over your grave till I'm sure that you're dead.




  • Reply 20 of 36
    thuh freakthuh freak Posts: 2,664member
    Of course, there is also Haile Selassie's "War" speech. While not intended (i dont think) to be artistic in itself, Marley made a beautiful song out of it.



    Quote:

    Words by Haile Selassie

    Until the philosophy which hold one race

    Superior and another inferior

    Is finally and permanently discredited and abandoned

    Everywhere is war, me say war



    That until there are no longer first class

    And second class citizens of any nation

    Until the colour of a man's skin

    Is of no more significance than the colour of his eyes

    Me say war



    That until the basic human rights are equally

    Guaranteed to all, without regard to race

    Dis a war



    That until that day

    The dream of lasting peace, world citizenship

    Rule of international morality

    Will remain in but a fleeting illusion

    To be persued, but never attained

    Now everywhere is war, war



    And until the ignoble and unhappy regimes

    that hold our brothers in Angola, in Mozambique,

    South Africa sub-human bondage

    Have been toppled, utterly destroyed

    Well, everywhere is war, me say war



    War in the east, war in the west

    War up north, war down south

    War, war, rumours of war



    And until that day, the African continent

    Will not know peace, we Africans will fight

    We find it necessary and we know we shall win

    As we are confident in the victory



    Of good over evil, good over evil, good over evil

    Good over evil, good over evil, good over evil




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