Gary Inman: Ballad of Two brothers
Lyrics:
Somewhere in Vietnam, September first Dear, Mom and Dad We must've marched twenty miles today Through the rain and the mud And believe it or not This is the first opportunity I've had to sit down and Write in two or three weeks This'll have to be short But I just wanted to send my love And let you know that I'm doing fine But you know, just being here And seeing how close these people Are to losing their freedom Makes me that much more determined To help win this war 'Cause if we don't, the next battlefield May be closer to home than Vietnam Must close for now, all my love Your son, Bud P.S., how's Tommy doing At State University Tell him his big brother said hello State University, September first Hi, Dad, we must have Marched twenty blocks today And, baby, I'm beat I mean, like the sign I was carrying got real heavy But, Dad, everything was out of sight There were recorders and Photographers and cameraman From every major news Service and network in the nation So look for your baby boy's picture On the front page of today's paper Of course, you might have a Little trouble recognizing me With my groovy beard But, Dad, I know we're right How can you defend my brother Murdering all those people overseas So what if the Communists Do take over in South Vietnam Why, just today Our economics professor assured us That people get along Just as well under communism As they do under Any other form of government I'm sorry, Dad But this God and country bit Just isn't my bag Gotta go, dad, big rally tonight Your son, Tommy P.S., Dad better send me an Extra fifty bucks this week, dig Dear Mr. and Mrs. Smith I know you must be awfully Proud of your fine son I wish I could be there to See you receive Bud's medal of honor It may comfort you to know That his last thoughts were of you And as his sergeant I can truthfully say He was one of the bravest men I have ever known Dear Mom and Dad It's been some time Since I received word about Bud Somehow I just didn't have The nerve to come home But I've done a lot of thinking since then About my turned on friends and About what they said about communism We were all wrong And you know, I always just worship Bud Now that I've thought it over, I know That he would never fight for something Unless he believed in it With all of his heart And in spite of all my past mistakes I hope that somehow, someday I can become as big in your eyes As my brother will always be Your son, Private Tommy Smith |
"The Ballad of Two Brothers" is pro-war, the dialog suggests that the soldier was a brave and caring individual, while the hippy was only pretending to care when really he just want to be in the paper. An example of this is when the soldier states, "We must've marched twenty miles today/ Through the rain and the mud" while the hippy says "Marched twenty blocks today/ And, baby, I'm beat". Suggesting that that while the soldier was doing the hard work with compassion and determination his brother is being narcissistic and even going as far as briefly being supportive of communism.
When the soldier is speaking, the music is heroic and inspiring, and the he speaks with a gruff and calming demeanor. However when the hippy is speaking, goofy and cheery music plays, clearly mocking the music being played at the time, while the hippy speaks with a naïve demeanor suggesting that he does not really know what he is talking about. This shows that the musician wanted to portray the young people who were against the war did not fully understand what they protesting about. "The Ballad of Two Brothers" is in support of the stated foreign policy. This is evident by the quote "And seeing how close these people/ Are to losing their freedom/ Makes me that much more determined/ To help win this war". This shows that the song tries to portray the war as a battle to preserve the South Vietnamese freedom from communism. The song shows how war can benefit society. The soldier says that despite his personal loss he feels that his fighting can help others and preserve freedom, while the hippy clearly states that he does not care for American ideals and even goes as far as to state "So what if the Communists/ Do take over in South Vietnam". This shows that he does not care for the South Vietnamese and is unwilling to sacrifice. One can understand the moral the song attempts to portray. The songs message shows that people should not ignore other people's troubles just because it is the easier thing to do. The hippy does not wish to sacrifice or to work to help the South Vietnamese, while the soldier sacrifices everything in a saint-like manner to preserve other's freedom. This is relevant to a lot of modern day issues about the world and could be applied to many situations. Analysis by Kees van Muyden |