Hero of War
| "Hero of War" | |
|---|---|
| Song by Rise Against | |
| Released | May 20, 2009 |
| Format | Digital download, Music video |
| Recorded | January–June 2008 at the Blasting Room, Fort Collins, Colorado |
| Genre | Acoustic rock |
| Length | 4:13 |
| Label | DGC, Interscope |
| Writer | Tim McIlrath |
| Producer | Bill Stevenson, Jason Livermore |
"Hero of War" is a 2008 song by Rise Against from the album Appeal to Reason. The song was mistaken to be the album's third single, after a music video of the song was released on the band's Myspace on May 20, 2009. However, It was later revealed it was just a promotional video and "Savior" is in fact, the third single.
Song meaning
The song starts off from the view of an army recruiter asking a possible new recruit to enlist. With promises of adventure and money the young person enlists. At the end of the song, the cycle begins again with another army recruiter enlisting another person.
Inside the song, he sees how destructive the world can become, but when fighting out in war, he says, "I'll carry this flag, to the grave if I must, because it's a flag that I love, and a flag that I trust." Tim McIlrath wrote this song due to all the violence in the war, but also for the troops that serve overseas protecting their respective countries.[1]
He also shows near the end, "A hero of war. Is that what they see, just medals and scars, so damn proud of me! And I brought home that flag, now it gathers dust, but its a flag that I love; it's the only flag I trust." Tim says this showing sarcasm because of how people treat soldiers like heroes because they have medals and scars, making them look brave, even though they don't feel like heroes, they didn't know what the world was truly like.".[1]
Music video
A music video was made for the song, although it wasn't released as a single from the album, and thus the song was mistaken to be the album's third single. The music video was released on May 20, 2009, on the band's Myspace page.
The video fades between lead singer Tim McIlrath sitting and singing the song while playing the acoustic guitar, and shots of soldiers in war.
Personnel
- Tim McIlrath – lead vocals, acoustic guitar
References
External links
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