This post is the same vibe as my last two posts. If you’re interested in more info about the project as a whole, check them out.

We’ve moved into the sphere of music, and how looking at historical events through the lease of music can shed light on a topic. Part of that was to analyze a song, of our choice, and see how that fits in. The idea I found for this particular song fits with other things as well, but for now we’ll focus on the song.

People Want to Believe the Best in Elected Officials

Today, we may not have this exact worldview. Through abuses of power, and outright lies, we have kind of lost that. But in the 1960’s, this was not the case, especially in America. When your president tells you that you have to do your part, you believe him. That’s exactly what Charlie Boy by The Lumineers is saying.

And Kennedy made him believe
We could do much more

Play the bugle, play the taps
Make your mothers proud
Raise your rifles to the sky, boys
Fire that volley loud

This is referencing the Vietnam War, and how so many young men went to fight, because they believed it was the best thing they could do for their country. They thought that the war was important, because their president, the person they trusted to run their country, told them to. Of course, thats not how we view the Vietnam war today, nor how the song continues.

News was bad on Upland Ave
Metuchen mourn our loss
Sons rebelled, while fathers yelled
And mothers clutched the cross

So many of the young people who went into this unwinnable war never made it back home. So many people want to think that people in power always do what’s right, but thats impossible. We can’t think of political powers as heroes, because the mistakes that they can make can be devastating.