The Wars, Part Two

The second song featured in my interpretation of "wars." ~ Please bear with this rather lengthy post. ~ Also, please read Part One if you have not already done so, as these songs are meant to convey a chronological progression of ideas. ~

Avenged Sevenfold has become, like Nerina Pallot, a new favourite of mine. ~ Their music is not of the type that I am used to, yet its intriguing and flexible nature has a pleasing quality to it that keeps me interested. ~ I've become acquainted enough with the band to know that it is often referred to as "A7X," if that is any indication as to my familiarity with the group. ~

When directly experiencing war, individuals will become caught up in the immediate needs of battle and thus be distracted from the emotional impacts of war. It is only when individuals are given the time to reflect upon their deeds and the deeds of others within the war, that they will feel the actual psychological impact of the horrors of war.

M.I.A., by Avenged Sevenfold:

[Verse 1]
Staring at the carnage, praying that the sun would never rise.
Living another day in disguise.
These feelings can't be right, lend me your courage to stand up and fight, on tonight.

Ooooo...
Stand up and fight.

[Verse 2]
Now fighting rages on and on, to challenge me you must be strong.
I walk your land but don't belong, two million soldiers can't be wrong.

[Chorus]
It's no fun but I've been here before
Far from home and I'm fighting your war.
(Not the way I pictured this, I wanted better things)
Some are scared others killing for fun, I shot a mother in front of her son.
(Take this from my consciousness, and please erase my dreams)

[Verse 3]
Fight for honor, fight for your life.
Pray to god that our side is right.
Even though we won, I still may lose
Until I make it home to you
I see our mothers filled with tears,
grew up so fast where did those years go?
Memories won’t let you cry
unless I don't return tonight.

[Verse 4]
So many soldiers on the other side, I take their lives so they can't take mine.
(Scared to make it out alive now murder's all I know.)
Nobody tells me all the reasons we're here. I have my weapons so there's nothing to fear.
(Another day, another life, but nothing real to show for)

[Chorus]

[Verse 1]

[Verse 5]
Watching the death toll rise wondering how I'm alive.
Strangers blood on my hands, I've shot all I can
There are no silent nights, watching your brothers all die
To destroy all their plans with no care for me
No thought of me, no thought of me

Ohhhhh...

[Verse 6]
Walk the city lonely
Memories that haunt are passing by
A murderer walks your street tonight
Forgive me for my crimes; don't forget that I was so young
Fought so scared in the name of God and country

Literary Content

In “M.I.A.,” the individual has already been at war for awhile. When the song starts, he begins another day of battle. Having already faced the reality of war, the individual now has a different perception of war – namely, he is no longer lustful for battle. In fact, he is “living another day in disguise” – a metaphor that highlights his new, contrasting view of war. His unwillingness to fight sprouts from his cowardice, which he thinks “can’t be right.” He calls upon a fellow soldier to “lend [him his] courage;” later, in battle, he addresses the enemy side with the same plea to “challenge [him]” with a display of courage so that he himself can find the strength to fight on. During the battle, the individual manages to bring himself to “[shoot] a mother in front of her son” because he was caught up in the fight; yet reflecting back on his deeds, he begins to regret coming to war, realizing that it is “not the way [he] pictured [it].” The necessity of taking the enemies’ lives so that “they can’t take [his]” is what keeps him fighting; his fear is abated by the weapons in his hands, showing that in battle, he lives in the moment and therefore can kill. Yet in verse 6, as he walks through the defeated city, his “memories that haunt” him chide him for being “a murderer.”

The individual thus begins to understand the truth of war. He realizes that he “was so young” and so naïve when he joined the ranks of the army, eager to fight, that he hadn’t considered the fact that “nobody [told him] the reasons [the soldiers were there].”

Auditory Elements

The song begins with a gentle electric guitar solo in a moderately slow tempo; the voice that enters in verse 1 matches the sad and mournful tone created in the solo and reflects the individual’s dread at having to fight in another battle. Then, before verse 2, the song enters into a rock style; the tempo picks up and drives the song forward, simulating the adrenaline rush of a battle. The singer’s voice is strained and pain-filled, hinting at the destruction and wreckage occurring during the battle as the “fighting rages on and on.” In particular, the words “alive” and “die” in verse 5 stand out, sounding even more strained than the rest; this juxtaposes life and death and demonstrates how fate seems to be random on the battlefield because there appears to be no reason one soldier is killed rather than another.

A long guitar interlude, intertwined with the singing of “Ohhhhh…” from 4:41 to 7:04, maintains the strained and adrenaline-filled tone of the song. This then fades to a single electric guitar accompanying a voice reminiscent of the opening, setting a melancholic mood as the individual reflects upon “the carnage” of the battle. Finally, as the last word is sung, an acoustic guitar is heard, accompanied by the electric guitar; both fade to silence from 8:05 to 8:47, leaving the listener in a lugubrious mood.