No Bravery by James Blunt.

"Hello ! How are you ? We hope you're well ! Today, let's talk about the protest song No Bravery by James Blunt. We hope you will like it !"


No bravery – James Blunt 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gh41Wxez9PE

James Blunt 




When James Blunt was only 24, he went in Kosovo for his military service. He was a agent in the OTAN. He saw horrible things that choqued him and he couldn't keep that for himself. This is why he wrote this song, full of emotions and indignation.





Context : the war in Kosovo 
Causes : Kosovo was populated with 82% of Albanians and the rest of the population were Serbians. But, historically (between the XI and XV century),it was the economic, spiritual and political center for the Serbians. In the eyes of the Albanians, who were descendents of the population who were living in Kosovo in ancien times, it was like the Serbians had stolen Kosovo from the Albanians. In conclusion, this was a fight between Serbians and Albanians, because they both felt that Kosovo belonged to them.

So, in 1996, there was the creation of the KLA (Kosovo Liberation Army) by Albanians and then, they fought against the police and the serbian army for the independence of Kosovo. Two years later, the serbian forces destroyed a part of the KLA .Unfortunatly, KLA was rebuilt, but they needed a lot of labour so many young albanians stopped their studies to train in camps created by the KLA.

Finally, on March 1999, a big offensive was launched against the KLA. A big part of the Albanian population had to leave their country. The OTAN joined the Serbians and the KLA became very weak so some of the albanian army returned to Albania while soldiers stayed in Kosovo to fight to the death. After a long fight, the KLA was demolished. Kosovo was placed under the protection of the OTAN. The KLA was dismantled in 2000.

Consequences : After this war, there were reports of crimes committed during and after the conflict ; some of the civilians (men, women, children and elderly people) had been tortured or abused in camps organized by the KLA.

Lyrics

There are children standing here,
Arms outstretched into the sky,
Tears drying on their face.
He has been here.
Brothers lie in shallow graves.
Fathers lost without a trace.
A nation blind to their disgrace,
Since he's been here.

And I see no bravery,
No bravery in your eyes anymore.
Only sadness.
Houses burnt beyond repair.
The smell of death is in the air.
A woman weeping in despair says,
He has been here.
Tracer lighting up the sky.
It's another families' turn to die.
A child afraid to even cry out says,
He has been here.
And I see no bravery,
No bravery in your eyes anymore.
Only sadness.
There are children standing here,
Arms outstretched into the sky,
But no one asks the question why,
He has been here.
Old men kneel to accept their fate.
Wives and daughters cut and raped.
A generation drenched in hate.
Says, he has been here.
And I see no bravery,
No bravery in your eyes anymore.
Only sadness.

Analysis 

« He has been here » is repeted three times and at the middle of each paragraph which means that this sentence is highlighted and important. Blunt didn't use « I » but « he »which is a way to distance himself from this song, but also letting the listener imagine how it feels to be witness to this massacre.

In the chorus, Blunt uses « I » now to show us that he is disgusted by this lack of bravery. Furthermore, ''bravery'' is repeted twice in a row to insist on this word. The second times, it is followed by ''your'' to let the listener react and think about what happened in Kosovo. The chorus and the song finish on a little sentence with two words ''only sadness'' which is a strong choice because his entire experience is placed on these two words.
Every ages are mentioned. This is what drive this song universal and make us realize how big and horrible was this war.
To conclude, this song tell us how unfair was the life of those poor people in Kosovo. James blunt remind us that in a beautiful and touching way.

"This is it ! Hope you enjoy. A next article will arrived next thursday. Kiss !"

Fanny & Lucie