Difference between revisions of "Remembrance Sunday/A meditation"
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− | <mp3 autoplay="1">NoMansLand.mp3</mp3><br/> <small>''Click to play...''</small><br/> | + | |- |
− | < | + | | width="28%" | || width="44%" | || width="28%" | |
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− | + | | colspan="3" |<big><big>'''No Man's Land'''</big></big><br/> | |
− | [[File: | + | <mp3 autoplay="1">NoMansLand.mp3</mp3><br/> <small>''Click to play...''</small><br/> |
− | [[File: | + | <big>An Eric Bogle song - ''a lyrical meditation if you will'' - that evokes the realities of war more honestly than the official ceremonies with their obfuscating leitmotif of restrained pomp and militarism - sung appropriately here in both English and German</big> |
− | [[File: | + | <br/><br/> |
− | + | ---- | |
− | <poem> | + | <br/> |
− | Well how do you do, Private Willy McBride, | + | |- |
+ | | style="vertical-align:top;" | | ||
+ | [[File:RBL-poppy.jpg|300px]] | ||
+ | <br/> | ||
+ | Royal British Legion poppy | ||
+ | <br/><br/> | ||
+ | ...and an aging WWII veteran dissenter writes:<br/>[[Document:I will wear a poppy for the last time|"This year, I will wear a poppy for the last time"]] | ||
+ | <br/><br/> | ||
+ | ---- | ||
+ | <br/><br/> | ||
+ | [[File:WhitePoppy.jpg|300px]] | ||
+ | <br/> | ||
+ | White poppy | ||
+ | <br/><br/> | ||
+ | Most thinking people agree the continuing need for a nationwide act of remembrance; but many find the overt militarism of the current ceremonial inappropriate, not to say offensive, when it is the unspeakable horror of war and those who perished in it that ought properly to be its focus.<br/> | ||
+ | And since it is militarism and the pompous, catastrophic failures of leaders that are the root causes of war, sack-cloth and ashes would be rather more appropriate attire for ceremonial leaders than dress uniforms with rows of shiny medals.<br/> | ||
+ | The [http://www.ppu.org.uk/whitepoppy/index.html White Poppy Project] of the Peace Pledge Union is an attempt to promote these issues | ||
+ | <br/><br/> | ||
+ | [[File:WhitePoppyField.jpg|300px]] | ||
+ | | <poem>Well how do you do, Private Willy McBride, | ||
Do you mind if I sit here down by your graveside? | Do you mind if I sit here down by your graveside? | ||
And rest for a while in the warm summer sun, | And rest for a while in the warm summer sun, | ||
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Or, Willy McBride, was it slow and obscene? | Or, Willy McBride, was it slow and obscene? | ||
− | + | ---- | |
− | + | CHORUS | |
− | + | Did they Beat the drums slowly, Did they play the fife lowly? | |
− | + | Did they sound the death march as they lowered you down? | |
− | + | Did the bugles sound The Last Post and chorus? | |
+ | Did the pipes play the Flowers O' the Forest? | ||
+ | ---- | ||
+ | CHORUS | ||
+ | |||
+ | ---- | ||
And did you leave a wife or a sweetheart behind | And did you leave a wife or a sweetheart behind | ||
In some loyal heart, is your memory enshrined? | In some loyal heart, is your memory enshrined? | ||
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And fading to yellow in a brown leather frame? | And fading to yellow in a brown leather frame? | ||
+ | ---- | ||
+ | CHORUS | ||
+ | |||
+ | ---- | ||
The sun's shining down on these green fields of France; | The sun's shining down on these green fields of France; | ||
The warm wind blows gently, and the red poppies dance. | The warm wind blows gently, and the red poppies dance. | ||
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and a whole generation who were butchered and damned. | and a whole generation who were butchered and damned. | ||
+ | ---- | ||
+ | CHORUS | ||
+ | |||
+ | ---- | ||
And I can't help but wonder, no Willie McBride, | And I can't help but wonder, no Willie McBride, | ||
Do all those who lie here know why they died? | Do all those who lie here know why they died? | ||
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The killing, the dying, it was all done in vain, | The killing, the dying, it was all done in vain, | ||
For Willie McBride, it's all happened again, | For Willie McBride, it's all happened again, | ||
− | And again, and again, and again, and again. | + | And again, and again, and again, and again.</poem> |
− | </ | + | | style="vertical-align:top;" | [[File:WWI-4.png|300px]]<br/><br/> |
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− | [[ | + | [[File:WWI-1.jpeg|300px]]<br/><br/> |
+ | <br/> | ||
+ | [[File:WWI-gas.jpg|300px]]<br/><br/> | ||
+ | <br/> | ||
+ | [[File:WWI-5.jpeg|300px]]<br/><br/> | ||
+ | <br/> | ||
+ | [[File:WarGraves1.jpg|300px]]<br/><br/> | ||
+ | |} |
Revision as of 18:14, 8 October 2014
No Man's Land <mp3 autoplay="1">NoMansLand.mp3</mp3>
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Well how do you do, Private Willy McBride, CHORUS CHORUS And did you leave a wife or a sweetheart behind CHORUS The sun's shining down on these green fields of France; CHORUS And I can't help but wonder, no Willie McBride, |