'Civil war' Guns'n'Roses Paul BENVEGNEN

Guns and Roses : Civil War

This song was first played in april 1990 in the compilation Nobody's child. But it appeared later in Use your Illusions II in 1991. The song was the brainchild of Axl Roses, the singer, Slash, the guitar leader, and Duff MacKagan, the bassist. Slash thought to write a song about civil war before, to explain his anger about the japanese civil annihilation in the period of the second war. Duff told medias that the sound came from on interview on a radio show on Rockline radio.

In 60's, two assassinations marked the US's population, first the complot death of JFK in 1962, which was a shock for all americans. After, in 1968, the assassination of Martin Luther King create racial conflicts ans many uprisings. This two crimes are mentionned in 'Civil War' , the thing you have to know is that this protest song is relativly large in the accusation and the charge. It means that it talks about racial concerns or political concerns in US. Futhermore, the sound is about the Vietnam War, and particulary in the way that the powerfuls acted in this war period. The song is also including the American civil war, we can hear a reference to Johnny's sound. When Axl is whistling, it remains to the melody of 'Johnny going to American civil war'.

Kennedy : The former president of US is written in the lyrics. But the sentence which includes « Kennedy » is « They shot Kennedy », we can understand more than an inclusion a denounciation. 'They' is a large word, but show really precisely that this sentence is a big denounciation. About what ? It depends of your interpretation. Either they are may protesting about the assassination of the president or they are showing that they were opposed to Kennedy's way of guiding the country.

Martin Luther King : Instead of Kennedy they talked about King more indirectly, it means that this men is not mentionned in the song. But, in a radio show on Rockline radio, Axl gave his first lyrics : "Did you wear the black arm band when they shot the man who said: 'Peace could last forever'?", and he explained this lyrics by this sentences : « I went in a peace march, when I was a little kid, with my mom. I was like four years old. For Martin Luther King. ». We understand a denounciation of the assassination of Martin Luther King, but, Axl made us know that it was true life experience. More largely, it is also a denounciation of the racial concerns in US during the end of the 20th century.

Vietnam War : There is another big denouncement that is made in 'Civil war', the attack of how strong people of US act in Vietnam war. They are protesting against how USA lived the war.

There is two reasons to protest against them, first the war and the way that it was leading and the second reason is the civil war that emerge in US. It was a big concern in the country, there were many protestation and political demonstration.

We will see how Guns'n'Roses are protesting against the Vietnam war and the big effect that this war create in USA.

Terror in vietnam

"What we've got here is failure to communicate.Some men you just can't reach...
So, you get what we had here last week, which is the way he wants it!
Well, he gets it!
N' I don't like it any more than you men."

Those sentences are the beginning of the lyrics, we can found an address to someone, which mean that the song is dedicated to someone. This address is to the strong and the powerful who are leading the US. We can see it in « Some men you just can't reach... ». So the rest of the song will be adressed to those mens. Axl sings those sentences with a very strange voice, I mean with a very grave and serious voice, this way to sing add a heavy atmosphere. An atmosphere like this one makes understand the listenner that the talk is serious.

Look at your young men fighting
Look at your women crying
Look at your young men dying
The way they've always done before

Look at the hate we're breeding
Look at the fear we're feeding
Look at the lives we're leading
The way we've always done before

My hands are tied
The billions shift from side to side
And the wars go on with brainwashed pride
For the love of God and our human rights
And all these things are swept aside
By bloody hands time can't deny
And are washed away by your genocide
And history hides the lies of our civil wars

Then, in the lyrics, verbs in imperative remind the address, and moreover include a strenght and a boldness in the denounciation. The repetition of « Look » many times in the sound show this. There is a violent vocabulary like : « fighting », « dying », « genocide », « civil wars », « homicide ». This vocabulary adds to the song a gloomy atmosphere. About the chorus, we can see a denounciation of the way to lead the country because this is a « brainwashed » and this thing doesn't respect the « human rights ». Furthermore, the puwerful are the only person in charge of the war, we see it in : « your genocide ». But with the war, the conflict is also in the country, the change of person « your » to «  our » show this aspect that is strenghtly denounced by Guns 'n' Roses.

'Look at your young men fighting'

                                                                                                            American in Vietnam

D'you wear a black armband
When they shot the man
Who said, "Peace could last forever."
And in my first memories
They shot Kennedy
An' I went numb when I learned to see
So I never fell for Vietnam
We got the wall of D.C. to remind us all
That you can't trust freedom
When it's not in your hands
When everybody's fightin'
For their promised land

The next verse is talking about M.L.King and J.F.Kennedy, the three first sentences for King and the two next for Kennedy. Then Vietnam is mentionned, and after there is an example of the brainwash of the United State. G'n'R explain here their anger against this government who does not care of people, but just of the strenght of United State.

And
I don't need your civil war
It feeds the rich while it buries the poor
Your power hungry sellin' soldiers
In a human grocery store
Ain't that fresh
I don't need your civil war
Look at the shoes you're filling
Look at the blood we're spilling
Look at the world we're killing
The way we've always done before
Look in the doubt we've wallowed
Look at the leaders we've followed
Look at the lies we've swallowed
And I don't want to hear no more
My hands are tied
For all I've seen has changed my mind
But still the wars go on as the years go by
With no love of God or human rights
'Cause all these dreams are swept aside
By bloody hands of the hypnotized
Who carry the cross of homicide
And history bears the scars of our civil wars

Then, G'n'R are protesting against the powerful, besides they said that the war is a processus with help rich instead of poor. A sentence is repeat two times « I don't need your civil war », it means that they don't want this war and the civil aspect of the Vietnam war, but moreover it shows how Vietnam War was a really concern for americans. The two next verse are explaining there protestation in the same way that before.

"WE PRACTICE SELECTIVE ANNIHILATION OF MAYORS AND GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS
FOR EXAMPLE TO CREATE A VACUUM
THEN WE FILL THAT VACUUM
AS POPULAR WAR ADVANCES
PEACE IS CLOSER" **

This extract is a citation of what is said by the powerful, it is ironic, totally ironic. By annihilate you can not have peace. By this opposition, it shows a denounciation of the powerful again. Moreover, it is like an humiliation for the powerful, it shows how, according to Guns'n'Roses, this government met concerns to lead the country.

I don't need your civil war
It feeds the rich while it buries the poor
Your power hungry sellin' soldiers
In a human grocery store
Ain't that fresh
And I don't need your civil war
I don't need your civil war
I don't need your civil war
Your power hungry sellin' soldiers
In a human grocery store
Ain't that fresh
I don't need your civil war
I don't need one more war

I don't need one more war

Here, there is a repetition that explain how G'n'R hate the way that Vietnam war was leading by the powerful and furthermore their hatred. By their song, they traduce the anger of all american people during this war.

Whaz so civil 'bout war anyway

This is the final sentence of the song, this sentence is violent point finition. This finition permit to discreditate a lot this government and the powerful. It shows the lack of understanding of the conflict in US because of the Vietnam war.

A little thing you have to know is that this song was released after the Vietnam war, it is just a pro-Vietnam war protest song.

Now you may understand better why 'Civil war' is a protest song, and exactly what it is protesting against. G'n'R wrote this song after the Vietnam war, but then wanted to traduce the disrelishing of US's people.

Protestation and revolts in USA