“Us” would fight “them” for “we”

Is that how it always will be?

Hi all,

Thank you for joining me for this Sunday Special commentary.

Comments and questions are welcome. Please be respectful of others’ opinions if they should differ from yours.

If you’d like to hear the song before you read the background, I’ve included a YouTube video below the article. 

For Japanese students, a glossary of the vocabulary in bold is provided below. If you have the Substack app on your phone, you can LISTEN to the article as you read. 

Photo: De Maghrebijn (Wikimedia Commons)

(732 words)

The Persian Gulf War happened in 1990-1991 when Iraq, led by Saddam Hussein, invaded Kuwait over conflicts related to oil in the region. Many countries formed a coalition, led by the U.S., and fought against Iraq. After a few weeks, Iraq was pushed out of Kuwait, and the war ended. 

Today’s song is the Gulf War Song by the group Moxy Früvous (1991). Let’s take a look at the lyrics:

We got a call to write a song about the war in the Gulf / But we shouldn't hurt anyone’s feelings

So we tried, then gave up, cause there was no such song / But the trying was very revealing

What makes a person so poisonous righteous / That they’d think less of anyone who just disagreed?

Here, the singers are asking why person A acts like they’re better than person B just because B doesn’t agree with A.

She’s just a pacifist, he’s just a patriot

If I said you were crazy, would you have to fight me?

We call each other names. Children call each other names, too, and sometimes, it leads to fights.

Fighters for liberty, fighters for power

Fighters for longer turns in the shower

This is probably cultural, but in various countries, some families take showers in the morning. Because the bathroom contains not only the shower but also the toilet and bathroom sink, everyone has to use it at some point. Disagreements happen about who should be able to use the shower for a longer time.

Don’t tell me I can’t fight, ‘cause I’ll punch out your lights. Don’t tell me I’m weak because I’ll fight you. “Punch out your lights” is an idiom meaning to hit someone very hard.

And history seems to agree that I would fight you for me. In other words, I will fight you to benefit myself or my position.

So we read and we watched all the specially-selected news / And we learned so much more ‘bout the good guys

The main news media (TV, newspapers, etc.) broadcast information about how justified the coalition’s actions were and how well the war was going.

Won’t you stand by the flag? was the question unasked

Won’t you join in and fight with the allies?

These were ideas that were assumed (not even asked). Everyone in the coalition countries would show their patriotism and support the war effort without question.

Yet, the singers were young. They had grown up in a peaceful country and questioned why they should have to fight: 

What could we say? We’re only 25 years old

With 25 sweet summers, and hot fires in the cold

This kind of life makes that violence unthinkable

We’d like to play hockey, have kids and grow old

What are some of the reasons countries go to war? Here, they give two: the first, to protect the interests of oil companies (Texaco) and the second, to maintain a country’s power in a region:

Fighters for Texaco, fighters for power

Fighters for longer turns in the shower

Don’t tell me I can’t fight ‘cause I’ll punch out your lights

And history seems to agree that I would fight you for me

That “us” would fight “them” for “we”

We will fight the enemy to benefit our position. Why did they write it this way? The direct object becomes the subject of the sentence. For “we” uses a subject pronoun instead of the object pronoun “us”. Maybe they’re making a statement about how during war, everything becomes complex and twisted.

Jon Tyson (Unsplash)

Again, we label people without really understanding the reasons for their beliefs or positions. He’s just a peacenik and she’s just a war hawk. A peacenik is a person who is opposed to war. A war hawk is a person who favors war. 

That’s where the beach was, that’s where the sea

What could we say? We’re only 25 years old

And history seems to agree

That I would fight you for me

That “us” would fight “them” for “we”

Finally, the singers ask the most important question:

Is that how it always will be?

…

I think this song is asking, “How are we ever going to stop conflicts if we can’t resolve them peacefully in our own families/neighborhoods/communities/cities/countries?” Doesn’t resolving conflict start at home? How can we learn to listen to others and not have to always be right? How can we stop conflicts from escalating and getting out of control?

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Question:

Why do you think the songwriters included the lines:

That’s where the beach was, that’s where the sea?

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VOCABULARY

coalition 連立

revealing 〈話などが〉啓発的な; 暴露的な

poisonous 毒 

righteous 正義

pacifist 平和主義者

justified 正当

assume 当然に思う