Explore themes and ideas associated with the Vietnam War by listening to the music of the era...

Friday, April 23, 2010

Dear AmericaThemes and Ideas: Song Activity

Note that the song is featured in the Dear America Movie when the troops were starting to get pulled out from Vietnam.

Rolling Stones: No Expectations

Take me to the station
And put me on a train
I've got no expectations
To pass through here again

He is going home from Vietnam, no intention of coming back again to fight.

Once I was a rich man and
Now I am so poor
But never in my sweet short life
Have I felt like this before

He used to be a rich man before he was drafted to fight in Vietnam. But now, after several years of being away, he comes back home with nothing. But even so, he never felt so happy in his life (because the war is over)

Your heart is like a diamond
You throw your pearls at swine
And as I watch you leaving me
You pack my peace of mind

Her love was very precious to him, but she gave it away to another man. This means that his wife ran away with another guy. As she left, she also took away his soul.

Our love was like the water
That splashes on a stone
Our love is like our music
It’s here, and then it’s gone

Their relationship was very fragile; it collapsed as soon as they were faced with hard problems such as him going to fight in Vietnam.

It was there, and then it was gone.
So take me to the airport
And put me on a plane
I got no expectations
To pass through here again

Just a repetition of the first verse

Conclusion:
Well, basically, the song is about a soldier used to be a rich man comes home from the fighting but finds himself with nothing left, even his wife left him for another man.I think the song is trying to tell the people of how most of the soldiers are facing real big problems after fighting such a terrible war.

Lyrics taken from: http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/NO-EXPECTATIONS-lyrics-The-Rolling-Stones/C06973092E2EAC284825689A0026C5B3
Posted by Kimbo the Great at 10:32 PM