I've listened to a band named "Brand New" for quite a while..probably six or seven years. One of their songs on their album "Deja Entendu" is named Guernica, but to be completely honest, I never really considered its meaning until now. I pulled out the CD and did a few listens, searching for references to Pablo Picasso's mural of the same name as well as the actual bombing of the city of Guernica. Here are the song lyrics:
Ever since I was young
Your word is the word that always won
Worry and wake the ones you love
A phone call I'd rather not receive
Please use my body while I sleep
My lungs are fresh and yours to keep
Kept clean and they will let you breathe
Is this the way a toy feels when its batteries run dry?
I am the watch you always wear but you forget to wind
Nobody plans to be half a world away at times like these
So I sat alone and waited out the night
The best part of what has happened was the part I must have missed
So I'm asking you to shine it on and stick around
I'm not writing my goodbyes
I submit no excuse
If this is what I have to do I owe you every day I wake
If I could I would shrink myself
Sink through your skin to your blood cells
Remove whatever makes you hurt
But I am too weak to be your cure
Is this the way a toy feels when its batteries run dry?
I am the watch you always wear but you forget to wind
Nobody plans to be half a world away at times like these
So I sat alone and waited out the night
The best part of what has happened was the part I must have missed
So I'm asking you to shine it on and stick around
I'm not writing my goodbyes
I'm not letting you check out
You will beat this starting now
And you will always be around
I'm there to monitor your breathing
I will watch you while you're sleeping
I will keep you safe and sound
Does anybody remember back when you were very young?
Did you ever think that you would be this blessed?
What seemed most obvious from the lyrics was the fact that Jesse Lacey, the singer/writer, had used this particular song to discuss his own type of war. As a culture we are so ready to conjure images of tanks and fighter jets when we think of "war," but the lyrics really challenge us to consider our own personal wars. What do you find yourself fighting on a daily basis?
Jesse seems to be describing something in his own life that he considers monstruous and tragic and is able to draw some subtle comparisons to the bombing of Guernica. Searching around the internet, I found that the inspiration for this song came to him while on tour when he found out that his grandfather had been diagnosed with lung cancer. Jesse seems to be drawing a comparison between the brutality of the Guernica bombing and the horrific effects of his grandfather's disease.
This is not the actual music video released by the band -- just one that someone else put together on their own. I would highly recommend this song as well as the entire album.
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2 comments:
That's a really interesting comparison you pointed out between the actual Guernica and this singer/writer's song. The idea that we all have our own personal wars that are completely different from what we consider to be war is a different way to view such a touchy subject. I liked your analysis of this singer's war and the meaning behind it (his grandfather being diagnosed with cancer). It really shows that the wars within ourselves could be just as terrifying and hurtful as a war involving weapons. Great find.
(sorry my comment is two different posts, I thought of more to write)
What I especially liked is how the singer/writer gave the connotation of a weapons type of war with the title, but then associates that with our own personal wars. It really made me think about how war is defined and what types of wars effect me the most. Anyone can say that war is bad, but most of the time those wars don't affect those people's lives directly. Instead it's our own wars inside ourselves that have the biggest impact and can be the most life changing and damaging.
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