Front Line - Stevie Wonder
Lyrics:
I am a veteran of the war I up and joined the army back in 1964 At sixteen I just had to be a man at any cost I volunteered for Vietnam where I got my leg shot off I recall a quote from a movie that said "who's more a man Than a man with a reason that's worth dyin' for" They had me standing on the front line They had me standing on the front line They had me standing on the front line But now I stand at the back of the line when it comes to gettin' ahead They gave me a uniform and a tiny salty pill To stop the big urge I might have for the wrong kind of thrill They put a gun in my hand and said, "shoot until he's dead" But it's hard to kill when 'please your friend' echoes through your head Brought up in church taught no man should take another's life But then put in a jungle where life has no price They had me standing on the front line They had me standing on the front line They had me standing on the front line But now I stand at the back of the line when it comes to gettin' ahead Back in the world the paper reads today Another war is in the brewing But what about the lives of yesterday And the many happy families that have been ruined My niece is a hooker and my nephew's a junkie too But they say I have no right to tell them how they should do They laugh and say "quit bragging" 'bout the war you should never have been in But my mind is so brain-washed I'd prob'bly go back and do it again I walk the neighborhood parading my purple heart With a fear of agent orange that no one will stop They had me standing on the front line They had me standing on the front line They had me standing on the front line But now I stand at the back of the line when it comes to gettin' ahead |
The song “Front Line” by Stevie Wonder is an anti-war song about Vietnam. It is anti war because of “Brought up in church taught no man should take another’s life, But then put in a jungle where life has no price” Stevie is saying that everywhere you learn to not kill other people and to value your life as well as the lives of others, but in war all of what you have learned about being right and wrong is turned upside down and feels wrong. War takes the value out of life and makes ending the lives of others not a big deal. The lines “I volunteered for Vietnam where I got my leg shot off, I recall a quote from a movie that said “who’s more a man, Than a man with a reason that’s worth dyin’ for”” stand out to me for two reasons. The first line shows how war is very costly to the individual, as it cost him his leg. War is absolutely demoralizing and demeaning, and losing a leg for a war you shouldn’t be involved in is horrible. The second lyric really stands out to me because you shouldn’t have to die for something to be a man. A soldier is no more of a man than a peacekeeper or the head of a charity. The all have equal causes that make them equal men. This song shows that war has a large impact on society. He also said that at 16 he feels that he has to be a man at any cost and the military is often a trap for the young and eager to become men. Overall I agree with the message of the song that war is not only hurtful but can ruin and deteriorate the lives of young men. Clearly war has a large impact on society if even in movies the definition of a true man is a soldier.
Analysis by Chris Kavanagh |