Another Man's Cause

Maybe true bravery is asking if a war is really needed

Hi all,

Thank you for joining me for this week’s song, “Another Man’s Cause”, by the British band, The Levellers. If you’d like to hear the song before you read the background, I’ve included a YouTube video below the article.

🔰Note: today’s article is written at a level of TOEIC (PBT) 350, Pre-2, CEFR A2.

(549 words)

Today’s song is about how war hurts people and their families. This is the story of men in wars that had nothing to do with them.

Another Man’s Cause talks about real wars during the late 1900s, like the Falklands War (Argentina, 1982) and the Troubles in Ireland (1960s-1990s). Many young people lost their lives fighting in these wars, even though the battles felt far away from their own lives.

Location of the Falklands. Photo: Apcbg (Wikimedia Commons)

From April 2 to June 14, 1982, The Falklands War happened between the British and Argentine governments. The Falkland Islands have been part of Britain since 1841, but Argentina said they belong to Argentine. The war lasted a little over 2 months. Argentine soldiers surrendered in the end, but the two countries still do not agree.

In 1991, the UK had money problems, and many people didn’t have jobs. At the same time, the UK was part of the Gulf War, and people were worried about how war was affecting their country.

"Another Man’s Cause" was written during this time, and it reflects how a lot of people felt about war. They wondered if their country should be involved and thought about all the people who were hurt because of it.

Gunshots shatter in the peace of night
Just another firefight
For the people of this little town
But for the dying soldier
Well, he′s feeling ten years older
As he's lying face down on the ground
All the words that are in his head
And all the words his mother said
As she would put him to bed back home

Your daddy, well, he died in the Falklands
Fighting for another man′s cause
And your brother, he was killed in the last war
And your mother, well, she's lying home alone

Every day, she sees your face
On the picture on the fireplace
With your brother, as he was leaving school
Then a day came five years ago

You said, "Mother, I need to know"
And you spoke the words, your brother spoke before
"I seen the things my daddy's done
And I′ve seen the medals that he’s won
And I know that this is what he would have wanted for me"

Here, her son is going off to fight in The Troubles, fighting that happened in Northern Ireland (1960s-1998). Some people wanted to join the Republic of Ireland, but other people wanted to stay part of the UK.

Now she wonders at it all
Just in whose name did these brave young heroes fall
And how many more are going to answer that call
They're going to fight and die in another country′s war
They're going to die for a religion they don′t believe in at all
They're going to die in a place they should never [have] been at all
Oh, never [have] been at all

The words in the song show how unfair war can be. The song makes people think carefully about why war happens. It reminds us that war isn’t just about countries fighting—it’s about real people and the pain their families feel when they don’t come home. The song also makes us think about what being a hero really means. Instead of just following orders, maybe true bravery is asking if a war is really needed.

Falklands_Conflict_1982_-WikiCommons by Philip Halling

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Question

Which three words from the article would you like to remember and use in the future?

Note: All comments and questions are welcome!

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Vocabulary

have (something/nothing) to do with  関連がある/ない
surrender 降伏
affect 影響
wonder 疑問に思う
shatter 粉砕
firefight 銃撃戦
fireplace 暖炉
religion 宗教
unfair 不公平
bravery 勇気

Source

Mulvaney, K. (2022, April 1). The Improbable Falklands War still resonates decades later. History. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/falklands-war-history-and-legacy Accessed 25 February 2025.

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I believe that education should be free.

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All of the articles about the songs will remain free for students to use. (We are all students, are we not?) However, if you find these articles useful and are in a position to make a small (or large) donation, I would be deeply grateful.

buymeacoffee.com/socialissuesinsong

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英検2級以上 | 名曲で英語を学ぶ

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