Black 47 : Iraq

What makes soldiers and musicians kindred spirits? Certainly, there exists among artists a desire to document and celebrate the exploits of cultural heroes (Beowulf, anyone?), but when were these efforts first set to music? Fuzzy history says in the early 19th century, Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye, arguably the first anti-war song, became popular in Ireland. In 1863 America, an enterprising Irishman named Patrick Gilmore (using the name Louis Lambert) rewrote Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye as When Johnny Comes Marching Home, and that tune ruled the charts for the remainder of the Civil War.

Since then, each of our nation's wars has come complete with a soundtrack. World War I witnessed Johnny become Tommy, who then morphed into the Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy for WWII. Likely, the most famous song of the Korean War was neither written by a soldier or recorded in time for the war. Instead, Suicide Is Painless (better known as The Theme from MASH) was written by Robert Altman's 14 year-old son, Mike, and sung by Johnny Mandel. And with apologies to Band of Gypsies' awe-inspiring Machine Gun (R.I.P. Buddy Miles), no depiction of the Vietnam War is complete without The Stones' ubiquitous Satisfaction. Today, digital recording technology has effectively eliminated the artist and allowed us to experience the Iraqi War straight from the mouths of our troops, practically in real time.

Now Black 47 has delivered Iraq (available on March 4th from United For Opportunity), a record focused on the lives of those impacted by the ongoing Iraq War. Music vets and longtime champions of the working class, Black 47 has never denied its political leanings or shied away from controversy. This time out, Larry Kirwan has taken a step back and based his songs on letters and conversations shared by fans currently serving in the armed services. The result is a batch of taut songs, many of which hit well below the belt and serve to express the fears, doubts and hopes of American soldiers and their families better than the photo ops we are privy to courtesy of mainstream media.

Iraq springs from the gate with Stars and Stripes, a white-knuckle rewrite of Sloop John B that depicts a young Marine trying to keep a dying comrade alive until a helicopter arrives. Over the course of twelve songs, the band provides its patented high-octane melange of musical styles as Kirwan supplies story after story of faceless American soldiers, as well as the girlfriends and boyfriends, husbands and wives, mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers for whom this war is a something more than a CNN report. This entire record, especially the poignant Southside Chicago Waltz, will stay with you long after the feedback fades. Highly recommended regardless of which lever you pull come November.

Black 47 - Stars and Stripes

Read the complete Iraq lyrics.

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