MR

Black Wall
(for those who served, whether by choice or chance and have cried "Back To The World")
Written by Dennis DeYoung
Lead Vocals by Dennis DeYoung

I was lucky you know
I wasn't there
I didn't have to go and face my fear
But still this hidden pain
Comes up from the belly of the beast
And even ten years past
We're haunted now from both sides of the truth
And the ghosts of Dienbienphu

This war keeps hangin' on
As if it were today
'Cause many a good men died
On the road from Tet to Hue
They won every battle they fought
But the one that raged at home
And now the only words that count
Are the names carved out in stone
As tears fall onto stone

Black Wall
Black Wall

Sound the bugle boy
For a twenty-one gun salute
Call for the ticker tape
And assemble all the troops
Not a word about dominoes
Or the horrors of napalm
Let Johnny come marching home
And greet him with a prayer and a psalm
For the boys of Vietnam
The boys of Vietnam
Let Johnny come back to the world

Back to the world
Back to the world



Interpretation

The Black Wall is the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C. which displays the names of all the American men and women who died in Vietnam. Of all the wars/conflicts in American history, Vietnam seems to have left the deepest emotional scars, largely due to the extreme demands on the soldiers combined with the dwindling public support back home that led many soldiers to be vilified and treated as outcasts upon returning instead of being welcomed home as heroes as was done for soldiers in previous wars ("They won every battle they fought but the one that raged at home"). As Dennis says in the opening of the song,"I was lucky you know. I wasn't there. I didn't have to go and face my fear."

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Captain America
Lead vocals by James Young

Captain America is that you
Flying down the highway
In your red white and blue

You remind me of the days
In that infamous war
When we weren’t quite sure
What we were fighting for

I see you again and it makes me think
About just who I am
Is there someone in charge
Who can lead the way tonight
Who knows the plan

Where there’s love
There is grace
There’s still hope left in this place
And the smile on your face
Gives me faith in the human race

Captain America what do you see
Millions of your brothers say they’ll fight to be free
Who could have known you would be the chosen one
To kick start our dreams
The cycle of life goes around and round again
Tell me what does it mean
Can it be true

Where there’s love
There is grace
And there’s hope left in this place
And the smile on your face
Gives me faith in the human

If we could trade all of our tomorrows
For the best of our yesterdays
Erase all the pain and the sorrow
Would there have to be a high price to pay
Hey Hey

We run for our lives
And we’re searching for shelter now
From the coming storm
Are you the man who can lead us once again
So come on, suit up, let’s go

Where there’s love
There is grace
And there’s hope left in this place
And the smile on your face
There’s not a damn thing we can’t face

Where there’s love
There is grace
And there’s hope left in this place
And the smile on your face
Gives me faith in the human
Faith in the human race
Yeah, I got faith
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Thanks to those that have given us the ability to live the way we choose.

Our thoughts are with those who have upheld those freedoms either in the past, currently or in the future.

Those abroad, we support you. Regardless what the press is saying. Stay Safe

Excellent Post.

Let us remember those who have served and that are serving our country.

Nothing more needs to be said than the words in those two songs.

Thanks for the post, NH.

Bugsy

Thank you.

The words and messages these songs convey should serve as a reminder that what we hold so dear (our freedoms) are not just given to us without cost.

As a daughter of a veteran, and an aunt to another about to be deployed, I want to thank the people who take on such activities to ensure those freedoms.

These Are the Times

I hear voices from beyond the veil
They reverberate in mystery
There are shadows in my heart
And they multiply in memory

And the comrades that I've lost out there
In the scattered ruins still speak to me

If the flickering light of your campfire dims
The world grows smaller
It's closing in
I'm standing here
And I want you to live

I know

These are the times we find out who we really are
This will be when a true friend stands at your side
Someone like me who wants to
Believe in the days of high times and innocence
Drawing the lines and shouting back to the night
Someone like me who wants you to live

And from those who've seen the light beyond
We know the end will bring tranquility
But the voices of the friends they heard
Brought them back to this reality

Tough the beacon of light in your life seems dim
The sun's coming up on the world we're in
There are choices here
And I want you to live

I know

These are the times we find out who we really are
This will be when a true friend stands at your side
One more like me
Who wants to believe in the truth of all we experienced
To live again to jump back into the fight
Someone like me who wants you to live

Pouring light from the sky
Portends you and I
Disappears in the night

I still remember

I hear voices from beyond the veil
Like a faint unfinished symphony

Though the beacon of light in your life seems dim
The sun's coming up on the world we're in
I'm standing here
And I want you to live

I know

These are the times we find out who we really are
This will be when a true friend stands at your side
One more like me
Who wants to believe in the truth of all we experienced
To live again to jump back into the fight
Someone like me who wants you to live

I want you, I want you, I want you to live
I want you, I want you, I want you to live
I want you to live

I still remember

and who could forget...

Show Me The Way

Every night I say a prayer in the hope that there's a heaven
And every day I'm more confused as the saints turn into sinners
All the heroes and legends I knew as a child have fallen to idols of clay
And I feel this empty place inside so afraid that I've lost my faith
Show me the way, show me the way
Take me tonight to the river
And wash my illusions away
Show me the way
And as I slowly drift to sleep, for a moment dreams are sacred
I close my eyes and know there's peace in a world so filled with hatred
That I wake up each morning and turn on the news to find we've so far to go
And I keep on hoping for a sign, so afraid that I just won't know
Show me the way, Show me the way
Take me tonight to the mountain
And wash my confusion away
And if I see a light, should I believe
Tell me how will I know
Show me the way, show me the way
Take me tonight to the river
And wash my illusions away
Show me the way, show me the way
Give me the strength and the courage
To believe that I'll get there someday
Show me the way
Every night I say a prayer
In the hope that there's a heaven...

Great songs and posts everybody....

To all our Brave men and Women who have served in any war to keep our Freedom and Liberty intact...

My Father served in World War II...

My brother-in-law Allen J. Schneider of New Jersey along with my uncle Clyde Sizemore of Caro, Michigan (born in Middlesboro, KY) both served in Vietnam. Clyde was the youngest of my Dad's brothers and he gave the Marine Corp 40 years of his life and died in the late 1990s not long after having both legs amputated for poor circulation (they were only supposed to take one of his legs ... and they took the wrong one first). Allen spent 17 years in the Army and died as peacefully as possible in Las Vegas earlier this year. Only Allen was exposed to Agent Orange and it contributed greatly to his health problems the last 12 years of his life. I have his discharge papers in my desk here.

A Veteran's Song
(Nazareth)

The bars are crowded with wasted youth
You just went, you didn't know the truth
You don't know that kid when you look back
You remember the music, paint it black

You had a brother in the movement and he burned his card
He's got a job in the white house, ain't life hard
You came back a hero on a stolen horse

You say you don't fit in, you can't stay the course

I may be right, don't care if I'm wrong
It's a veteran's song
I may be right, don't care if I'm wrong
It's a veteran's song

The band paraded playing "Oh gung ho""
Your country needs you, you've got to go
When you came over they said "Soldier go back"
When you came home they put you on the rack

Between agent orange and the jungle and fear
You're just surviving to get out of here
You smoke some more herb and you keep your head down
Could be your number is on the next round.

The song "Black Wall" is by far Dennis DeYoung best song he has written. That is just my opinion.

Someone later will write a powerful song about the Iraq Wall for those who died.