The Song of the Month (Nov. #1) コメント集
Artist: Billy Bragg
Title: The Home Front
Comment & Noticing:
The writer laments his native country. There are lots of people who don’t find truth. They only want their life in tepid water. I think the writer tries to say, “Let’s find our home truths!”/ The song denies people’s unconcern with each other and their safety first principle./ I thought this song is a negative song on the first listening, and I feel the same now. I also think that this song has an element of sarcasm. This song may sing about the World War I./ I couldn’t imagine what the author wanted to say for the first listening. This song asks us to be reasonable when we remember the past./ This song is a very realistic song./ First, It was difficult for me to understand what this song said, but I now almost understood./ I didn’t realize each paragraph showed different kinds of people and their lives, and that he doesn’t agree with them or England itself. I think he doesn’t like British society. / This song uses many ironies, and they give the song a special atmosphere. / I like this song the best of all we heard in this class. I knew it was about the English society in the 1980’s but there were deeper meanings than I had thought./ On the first and second listening, I thought this song appealed for peace to the world loosely, but now, I comprehend this author looked at the world closely./ The song has a lot of meanings. Easy words have deeper meanings than I can imagine./ This song shows an epitome of the world./ I can see the meaning a little. I think that he deserves respect. / First I thought the song was about family, but this song is against the policy of the country./ I now see that the song is trying to say that you have to claim or say what you feel or think./ We shouldn’t be deceived. We must find truth and don’t look the other way./ Now the song makes me so sad. The song refers to our superficial relationships with neighbors./ I find this song criticizes the society of the United Kingdom. I feel the singer was sad, and he was in despair./ I can hear the anger, dissatisfaction of the writer. He wants to say many things to his country./ I find the meanings of the lyrics and what the singer wants to say. The lyrics and strange music speak to me deeply./ Although I first thought the lyrics as a whole have to do with war, the author writes with outrage against the world./ I can’t understand that who are harmed by her husband, the song writer’s mother? Or wife next door?/ I thought the song was so calm and peaceful on the first listening./ the singer sings about the situation where people don’t seem to understand or care about their country. Think it is a well elaborated song, but I didn’t really like the lyrics that criticizes the country./ I felt the
gap between the mood that the melody makes and the lyrics./ I feel the writer’s strong feelings
about war and his mother country. I don’t know where the chorus is./ I think the song is very sad
because people only watch the war and they do nothing./ He is very active./ Although the singer
sings with flat voice, this song has deep meanings./ I thought the lyrics were negative, however,
they have irony in them./ The author is angry about the world, I feel. / This song is about English
society in a war time and the writer of this song complains about it./ I like the way the singer sings but I think this is a dark song. The country doesn’t know that the citizens are suffering from war. We should not make a violent world./ This song supports citizens./ I thought that we have to have more actions in our life. We need no more cheap thrills./ He makes a sarcastic remark about England from daily scenes./ / I’ve realized that this song tells us about something that relates to our everyday life./ Now I appreciate this song and this “hit home” of me because the whole Japanese society’s being as putting another lock on their door and meek statesmen can never let us know jam tomorrow while many innocent people are dying. It’s so unfair./ Mother and father attempt to justify the sacrifice. This song is difficult to understand. This song calls on stopping war. This song is meaningful./ On the first listening, I felt peaceful from the song, but now I understand what the song really means./ After all, the song speaks to people to stop the war. / I overlooked the words such as a soldier, another war, and opium. I though this is an antiwar song, but it was a critical song of England now./ I’m surprised that “family life sentence” means “family life” and “life sentence.”/ I thought that this song appeals exactly present-day society. This song uses a lot of comparisons. First, I thought that this song about independence movement./ This song sings about sadness of war. I think that this song criticizes politics./ Everyone has complaints to the world, but no one tries to change that, and they only take an expectant attitudes./ The voice is minor, but it makes the lyrics more impressive. I appreciated that Billy Bragg sang about an impatience which is characteristic of boys and girls in the awkward age./ Not only peace and family. This song bitterly criticizes the world. I think what this song says is right. This is a very well-written song./ Billy Bragg said not only “No War” and “More Peace”, but also many scenes in real life with sarcasm./ I feel lonely when I listen to
this song. / The melody of the song sounds like a sacred song. Billy Bragg has a firm belief in life
while a lot of others fail to face the reality and put themselves in sweet nostalgia. / I now see that citizens hope for peace even while they are sent to the front. The part “chatting with the wife beater next door” describes our relationship in the city. / I feel sadness and doubt of ordinary people in wartime in the song. This song sounds like a sad song. / I feel that I can find something like the story of the song in our usual life. It happens everywhere but we don’t consider it, because the answer to the problem is hard to do, I think./ The author has complaints about the world. He says we should stop the war and make the world where everyone is equal./ The writer feels people’s incoherence. There are things that we think we have to do, however, many people change their attitudes every time./ This song has lots of words that have multiple meanings/ The writer sings about England. I think that he didn’t like lazy English. This song makes me think about English people and Britain./ I think that the song was written about war./ First I thought that it was a light song, but workers of labor were sung and I found out that he criticized the general public who took no action in spite of their outrage against the government./ I first thought that this song was complaint to the state for the civilians, but after understanding the meaning of the song, I found this song was getting at the England community system. The song says people have to stand up and change something by themselves./ I believe that there’s a world to be won. / He thinks that the land is strictly for the birds. ./ The singer hates war and English habit of imagining good old days. He has a heart that is very similar to mine./ There is no peace in the word. The world is sick. / His voice is mysterious., full of wonder. The author points out clearly the wrong things in the world. I agree with this opinion./ This song has many sad feelings of people. The song describes a changing family because of a war. I didn’t know first that the song is such a sorrowful song./ Let’s take actions for ourselves./ The theme of the song is different from what I thought of. The lyrics have deep meanings./ First I thought it was singing about the old times when the workers had a difficult time winning independence, but I noticed it wasn’t actually talking about the past. Even though it does say that the people at home look back at the past, there are lots of phrases that can fit in our world today./ I felt the greatness of
parents. This song is about anti-war movement of the working class./ This song criticizes England
for changing into a tepid country./ I think it is a song of hope, and even though the singer is going through tough times (possibly war) he longs for a better tomorrow. Now I feel a sense of pity for the people of Britain as the only thing they can do is to reminisce about the “good old times” because of the corrupt society they live in.
今回のコメントの中で印象的だったものを一つ紹介：
平和がなくなっていく歌だと思ったんですが、一見平和に見える世界に潜んでいる闇、みたいなも
のを描いていることに驚きました。
Task1. The title of the song is “Home Front.” What does Billy Bragg mean by the title?
Task 2. What is it that makes peace in our time?
