As far as story telling, and war goes, “The General” by Dispatch:

[Verse 1]

There was a decorated general with a heart of gold

That likened him to all the stories he told

Of past battles won and lost, and legends of old

A seasoned veteran in his own time

On the battlefield, he gained respectful fame

With many medals of bravery and stripes to his name

He grew a beard as soon as he could to cover the scars on his face

And always urged his men on

[Verse 2]

But on the eve of a great battle with the infantry in dream

The old general tossed in his sleep and wrestled with its meaning

He awoke from that night to tell what he had seen

And walked slowly out of his tent

All the men held tall with their chests in the air

With courage in their blood and a fire in their stare

And it was a grey morning and they all wondered how they would fare

Till the old general told them to go home

[Chorus]

He said, "I have seen the others, and I have discovered

That this fight is not worth fighting

And I’ve seen their mothers

And I will no other

To follow me where I’m going

So take your shower, shine your shoes, you got no time to lose

You are young and you must be living

So take your shower, shine your shoes, you got no time to lose

You are young and you must be living

Go now, you are forgiven"

[Verse 3]

But the men stood fast with their guns on their shoulders

Not knowing what to do with their contradicting orders

The general said he would do his own duty but he would extend it no further

The men could go as they pleased

But not a man moved, their eyes gazed straight ahead

Till one by one they stepped back, and not a word was said

And the old general was left with his own words echoing in his head

He then prepared to fight

[Chorus]

He said, "I have seen the others, and I have discovered

That this fight is not worth fighting

And I’ve seen their mothers

And I will no other

To follow me where I’m going

[Outro]

Go now, you are forgiven

Go now, you are forgiven

Go now, you are forgiven

Go

Religion and sex are powerplays
Manipulate the people for the money they pay
Selling skin, selling God
The numbers look the same on their credit cards
Politicians say no to drugs
While we pay for wars in South America

Fighting fire with empty words
While the banks get fat
And the poor stay poor
And the rich get rich
And the cops get paid
To look away
As the one percent rules America

“Spreading the Disease” from the album “Operation: Mindcrime” by Queensrÿche (1988)

Hayes Carll sings, in his American Dream song - “Nothing changes, even when it wants to” and that struck me pretty hard.

Older-

Emmylou Harris the whole Red Dirt Girl song, my goodness but particularly “she loved her brother, I remember back when he was fixin up a '49 Indian. He told her “little sister gonna ride the wind, up around the moon and back again.” Well he never got farther than Vietnam, I was standing there with her when the telegram come.”

@[email protected] my kids absolutely LOVE that Vincent song. It’s so good, straight through.

You can check out, but you can never leave.

“I think you are blind to the fact that the hand you hold is the hand that holds you down.”

Everclear - Everything to Everyone

They call me the hiphoppopotamus

Flows that glow like phosphorus

Poppin’ off the top o’ this esophagus

Rockin’ this metropolis

I’m not a large water dwelling mammal

Where did you get that preposterous hypothesis?

Mnaa mnaa. Do do do do do.

Mnaa mnaa. Do do do do.

Mnaa mnaa. Do do do do do

Do do do, do do do, do do do do do do do do do do.

Remember kids, when in doubt, MNAA MNAA.

M-Make N-Nazis A-Afraid A-Again

• Vincent, by Don McLean

On that starry, starry night

You took your life, as lovers often do

But I could’ve told you, Vincent

This world was never meant for one as beautiful as you

• Also, probably anything written by Bowie, even as cryptic as his songs can sometimes be. Sound and Vision and Life on Mars stand out.

Please tell mom this is not her fault

“I’ve seen the future. I can’t afford it. To tell you the truth sir, someone just bought it.” -ABC

Millionaire - ABC

I walk a lonely road, the only road that i have ever known.

Fuckin magnets, how do they work?

• The bards Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope

And then one day you find Ten years have got behind you No one told you when to run You missed the starting gun

-Pink Floyd