Dark_Havoc's Reading Log

21~09~2006

darylb — Thu, 21 Sep 2006 03:41:58 +0000

I Was Only Nineteen ~ Redgum

Mum and Dad and Denny saw the passing-out parade at Puckapunyal
It was a long march from cadets.
The sixth battalion was the next to tour, and it was me who drew the card.
We did Canungra, Shoalwater before we left.

And Townsville lined the footpaths as we marched down to the quay
This clipping from the paper shows us young and strong and clean.
And there’s me in my slouch hat with my SLR and greens.
God help me, I was only nineteen.

From Vung Tau, riding Chinooks, to the dust at Nui Dat
I’d been in and out of choppers now for months.
But we made our tents a home, VB and pinups on the lockers
And an Asian orange sunset through the scrub.

And can you tell me, doctor, why I stil can’t get to sleep?
And night-time’s just a jungle dark and a barking M16?
And what’s this rash that comes and goes, can you tell me what it means?
God help me, I was only ninteen.

A four week operation when each step could mean your last one on two legs
It was a war within yourself.
But you wouldn’t let your mates down til they had you dusted off
So you closed your eyes and thought about something else.

Then someone yelled out “Contact!” and the bloke behind me swore
We hooked in there for hours, then a Godalmighty roar
Frankie kicked a mine the day that mankind kicked the moon,
God help me, he was going home in June.

I can still see Frankie, drinking tinnies in the Grand Hotel
On a thirty-six hour rec leave in Vung Tau
And I can still hear Frankie, lying screaming in the jungle
Til the morphine came and killed the bloody row.

And the Anzac legends didn’t mention mud and blood and tears
And the stories that my father told me never seemed quite real.
I caught some pieces in my back that I didn’t even feel
God help me, I was only nineteen.

And can you tell me, doctor, why I still can’t get to sleep?
And why the Channel Seven chopper chills me to my feet?
And what’s this rash that comes and goes, can you tell me what it means?
God help me, I was only nineteen. Forgrounded

Use of Agent Orange in the Vietnam War

Australian involvement in the war

The futile fighting and loss of our young, innocent men for a war that was never our own

Horrors that haunt you years after going to war, such as losing a close friend

Marginalised

The reason of going to war

Which war it is (you can only tell this from research, unless prior knowledge)

My Meaning

This song to me is a ‘story’ about how Australian men fell and lost their lives in a country, fighting someone else’s war. It also mentions about the use of agent orange and how it affected not just the scrub, but the men that walked through the jungle, on both sides. Redgum have also touched on how war is a horrendous creation and can come back to haunt you, even years after the war has finished

~Dark_Havoc~

19~09~2006

darylb — Tue, 19 Sep 2006 14:50:50 +0000

Between Angels and Insects ~ Papa Roach

There’s no money,

There’s no possessions,

Only obsession,

I don’t need that shit.

Take my money,

Take my obsession

I just wanna be heard,

Loud and clear are my words,

Comin’ from within man
Tell ‘em what you heard,

It’s about a revolution
In your heart and in your mind,

You can find the conclusion
Lifestyle and obsession,

Diamond rings get you nothin’ but a lifelong lesson
And your pocketbook stressin’,

You’re a slave to the system
Workin jobs that you hate,

For that shit you don’t need
It’s too bad the world is based on greed,

Step back and see
Stop thinkin’ bout yourself,

Start thinkin’ bout

There’s no money,

There’s no possession,

Only obsession,

I don’t need that shit
Take my money,

Take my possession,

Take my obsession,

I don’t need that shit

Cuz everything is nothing,

And emptiness is in everything
This reality is really just a fucked up dream
With the flesh and the blood that you call your soul,

Flip it inside out
It’s a big black hole,

Take your money burn it up like an asteroid
Possessions, they are never gonna fill the void,

Take it away
And learn the best lesson, the heart, the soul, the life, the passion

There’s no money,

There’s no possession,

Only obsession,

I don’t need that shit
Take my money,

Take my possession,

Take my obsession,

I don’t need that shit

Money, possession, obsession,

Present yourself,

Press your clothes
Comb your hair,

Clock in,

You just can’t win, just can’t win
And the things you own,

Own you nooooooow!

Take my money,

Take my possession,

Take my obsession,

I don’t need that shit
Fuck your money,
Fuck your possession,

Fuck your obsession,

I don’t need that shit
Money, possession, obsession,

I don’t need that shit

Forgrounded

That no amount of money, possessions or obsessions can make you happy

Marginalised

What are the possessions and obsessions?

My meaning

I get a sense of meaning from this song such that, a lot of items that we have, we don’t really need, such that we are wasting our money on things, and working for money for them things. The song mentions this in the line:

“You’re a slave to the system
Workin jobs that you hate,

For that shit you don’t need“

This gives us the message that we, society, work jobs that we don’t like, but we do just to get money, whether that money is just to get buy, or, as the song suggests, that it [the money] is used to buy unneeded items.

I also like the idea of “This reality is really just a fucked up dream“. This makes me think that life is a dream that has gone wrong, or that people are living in a dream world, where it’s their reality and no-one else’s…but as more than one person lives in this world, these ‘versions of reality’ clash with each other.

Finally, in the lines

“There’s no money,

There’s no possessions,

Only obsession,

I don’t need that shit.“

I have the sense that the vocalist is saying that he has realised what is wrong with the world, and saying that he doesn’t want his possessions and obsessions anymore, cause he knows full well that he can live without it

~Dark_Havoc~

18~09~2006

darylb — Mon, 18 Sep 2006 12:23:45 +0000

The Living Years ~ Mike & The Mechanics

Every generation
Blames the one before
And all of their frustrations
Come beating on your door

I know that I’m a prisoner
To all my Father held so dear
I know that I’m a hostage
To all his hopes and fears
I just wish I could have told him in the living years

Crumpled bits of paper
Filled with imperfect thoughts
Stilted conversations
I’m afraid that’s all we’ve got

You say you just don’t see it
He says it’s perfect sense
You just can’t get agreement
In this present tense
We all talk a different language
Talkin’ in defense

Say it loud, say it clear
You can listen as well as you hear
It’s too late when we die
To admit we don’t see eye to eye

So we open up a quarrel
Between the present and the past
We only sacrifice the future
It’s the bitterness that lasts

So Don’t yield to the fortunes
You sometimes see as fate
It may have a new perspective
On a different date
And if you don’t give up, and don’t give in
You may just be O.K.

Say it loud, say it clear
You can listen as well as you hear
It’s too late when we die
To admit we don’t see eye to eye

I wasn’t there that morning
When my Father passed away
I didn’t get to tell him
All the things I had to say

I think I caught his spirit
Later that same year
I’m sure I heard his echo
In my baby’s new born tears
I just wish I could have told him in the living years

Say it loud, say it clear
You can listen as well as you hear
It’s too late when we die
To admit we don’t see eye to eye

Say it loud, say it clear
Say it loud
Don’t give up
Don’t give in
And don’t know what you can do next

Forgrounded

The writer or vocalist of this song is saying, through use of emotive words and tones, how he wasn’t able to be there when his father passed away, so wasn’t able to say the things that he wanted to to his father, or say goodbye. Though it is a long song, it’s slow, calm, soothing tune is thought provoking, and in certain circumstances, can cause tears (experience on my part). The vocalist also suggests, that even though his father has left him in body, his spirit is still there, looking over him and listening to him. Cited in the song:

“I think I caught his spirit, Later that same year, I’m sure I heard his echo, In my baby’s new born tears”

Marginalised

The only thing that I can’t find in this song that would be considered important would be the relationship between the father and the vocalist, if they were close or not. That could have played a role in why he [the vocal] was not able to see him before he went

My Meaning

This song means quite a lot to me as it was the leaving song at dad’s funeral. When mum told me to download it and listen to it, I had realised that I had heard this song before, but it hadn’t really moved me. I know how the vocalist felt, not being there when his father left, as I myself was doing what my father would have wanted me to do, and stayed at school. Plus, all my support crew, friends and such, were at school.

This is a good song for anyone to relate to…it doesn’t have to be about a son that has lost his father, could be a daughter too.

I guess the main meaning of this song is, if you love or hate your father, say what you need to before it’s too late, or you may not get a chance

~Dark_Havoc~

In loving memory of Norman George Baldwin

darylb — Thu, 07 Sep 2006 03:28:01 +0000

Gone Away ~ The Offspring

Maybe in another life
I could find you there
Pulled away before your time
I can’t deal it’s so unfair

And it feels
And it feels like
Heaven’s so far away
And it feels
Yeah it feels like
The world has grown cold
Now that you’ve gone away

Leaving flowers on your grave
Show that I still care
But black roses and Hail Mary’s
Can’t bring back what’s taken from me

I reach to the sky
And call out your name
And if I could trade
I would

And it feels
And it feels like
Heaven’s so far away
And it stings
Yeah it stings now
The world is so cold
Now that you’ve gone away
Gone away, gone away, yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah

Oooooo, yeah oooooo, oooooo, Ohh yeah.

I’ll Save Your Soul
Whoa. Yeaaaaaeeeaaeah. Mm.

I reach to the sky
And call out your name
Oh please let me trade
I would

And it feels
And it feels like
Heaven’s so far away
And it feels
Yeah it feels like
The world has grown cold
Now that you’ve gone away
Gone away, gone away, yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah Oooooo, yeah oooooo, oooooo, Ohh yeah.
Oooooo, yeah oooooo, oooooo, Ohh yeah.

Forgrounded

Obviously the songwriter has lost someone close to them. We know this person has died cause of the line Leaving flowers on your grave and is saying how now that they’ve “gone away” the world has grown cold and that they can’t deal with life without them. Throughout the song, the vocalist has mentioned how they want their loved one back and would even trade places with them, suggesting that the writer would rather let their loved one live.

Marginalised

In the song, we don’t know who has died or how. We also don’t know the POV of the song, as it could be for a mother to daughter/son, wife to husband or vice versa. Can even be from a friend who’s best friend has died suddenly. We are also omitted with the age, so this song can appropriate for any age group and any loss of person

My meaning

I find this song is about a person who has lost someone they loved and I find it very sad. Only a couple of weeks ago whilst listening to this song, I realised how I felt about dad dying and made me tear up. This is a good song and the band (The Offspring) even said that they had many people writing in about how they had lost someone and how this song was appropriate to listen to, to let out feelings.

Unfortunately, being the first song I’ve ever related to for myself, and not because of my friends, I now find it hard to listen to after past events

This song is very moving, whether it be listened to with the music or just by reading the lyrics, but when reading the lyrics along with the music, you can feel the pain in the vocalists voice, making you relate to it more

~Dark_Havoc~

New kid on the block

darylb — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 03:50:55 +0000

Hey all

Name’s Dark_Havoc. This journal is so I can log all the books and movies that I read/watch so my English teacher will give me a good mark at the end of the year.

I read a fair bit, and watch a fair bit of movies too, and on top of that I listen to music almost every hour of the day.

I’m into…

Books: Mainly horror books, but also books with an excellent and easy to follow plot, that keep you suspended til the very end

Movies: Let’s see…action, horror, thriller, comedy, animation…yeah, I think that’s it…oh yeah, and Sci-Fi too

Music: Ahh, music…I live and breath for it. I am into all kinds of music…rap, rock, R&B, pop…you name it, I most likely listen to it. Fav bands are: Limp Bizkit, Disturbed, Papa Roach, The Offspring, Linkin Park and System of a Down (might do a few lyrics, and chances are they will be from the aforementioned artists). I am into many other artists, but the mentioned ones are my favourites

That’s all I can think about at the moment, so bye for now

~Dark_Havoc~