| Bill Withers wrote this song in 1973
|
| Back then it was about the Vietnam War which my father went to
|
| And I understood it from the perspective of a kid who went to Desert Storm
|
| And now it’s 2018 and there’s some young man in some war, somewhere and he’ll
|
| understand it his way
|
| And that’s just what it is, I mean, one thing I really like about this song is
|
| it’s not, really political
|
| It’s really about the conditions of the people that go
|
| And the reasons that we go, is not political at all
|
| It has more to do with our immediate circumstances
|
| Like for m, I joined 'cause my daddy joined and
|
| My daddy joind 'cause he needed a job, you know?
|
| So like he said, «When they say, 'Go,' you just go»
|
| Half the time, you go into some country you never heard of
|
| Which is excitin' until you realize like, «Wow, this is really life and death,»
|
| you know?
|
| And I’m sure it’s the same way for the guy on the other side but
|
| Once you’re in that situation, you’re wearin' that uniform and he’s wearin'
|
| that uniform
|
| And whether you’re political or not
|
| You are in that situation right now
|
| And it doesn’t matter what you’re political leanin’s are at that time
|
| And that’s what I really love about this song 'cause it speaks that
|
| The humanity, of soldiers, of humans on either side
|
| I can’t write left-handed
|
| Would you please write a letter, write a letter to my mother?
|
| Tell her to tell, tell her to tell, tell her to tell my family lawyer
|
| Try to get, try to get a deferment for my younger brother
|
| Tell the Reverend Watkins to pray for me
|
| I ain’t gonna live, I don’t believe I’m going to live to get much older |