Laird Galloway
English 102
Michael Vonie
March 22nd, 2017
Controversy Analysis
WAR. One of the many great Irish rock band, U2, albums, but WAR was different it was U2’s greatest albums ever and was all about changing the tides and fighting the power. The song that did so was Sunday Bloody Sunday it not only brought national but worldwide attention to the police brutality on Bloody Sunday. Bloody Sunday was and still is one of worst cases of police brutality in history. Bloody Sunday was a demonstration in Londonderry (Derry), Northern Ireland, on Sunday, January 30, 1972, by Roman Catholic civil rights supporters that turned violent when British opened fire, killing many people and injuring even more. The song Sunday Bloody Sunday is all about
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Many people did not want to believe because Edmond at the police could be in the wrong and could be so far in the wrong at the world at this time there were many police cases of police brutality and many people believed or false however bloody Sunday in Ireland proved AD police and make mistakes in this case it was a huge mistake by the police. Here in the US that maybe the police were in the wrong believe that is creating a very controversial topic about whether or not to believe U2 or believe the government. However, it not a very big due to the fact that you two were releasing their album 10 years after the events that happened Sunday bloody Sunday many people just had no idea what the band was …show more content…
Expression in Pop-rock Music: Critical and Analitical Essays. New York: Routlege, 2009. Print.
• Walter Everett’s book Expression in Pop-rock Music is about what the different songs we Love and listen to daily are about on a deeper level. As well as what the different bands and singer want to express. It relates to my song Sunday Bloody Sunday because there is a large chapter about and what Sunday Bloody Sunday represents and how strong of a conflict U2 was fighting for. Steverud, Jonas, and Brian Russell. "U2MoL." U2MoL - War - Sunday Bloody Sunday. Mourji, 22 Feb. 1998. Web. 01 Mar. 2017.
• U2MoL is a cite that has a very good explanation for the songs on the album WAR and especially the song Sunday Bloody Sunday. Much like N.W.A’s N***** with Attitude U2 received many threats from the police to the army about stopping their music because it reflected badly on them and just like N.W.A the did not and that’s what U2MoL is about it is a website about honor how these tragedies to light. Weigant, Chris. "Sunday Bloody Sunday." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 16 June 2010. Web. 01 Mar.
Oney, Steve. And the Dead Shall Rise: The Murder of Mary Phagan and the Lynching of Leo Frank. New York : Vintage, 2004. Print.
"Diary Entry August 16, 1968 Wounded On My Birthday." Redbubble. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 April
O'Neill, Laurie A.. Chapter 8: The Massacre. The Millbrook Press, 1993. eLibrary. Web. 23 Dec. 2013.
Robinson, Bruce. "The Blitz." BBC News. BBC, 30 Mar. 2011. Web. 24 Apr. 2014. .
Every war will have those who support the war and those who are against the war. In 1965, those who were against the Vietnam War made their views known by many forms of protesting such as forming organizations, rallying, and anti-war protest music. Anti-war protest music was an opportunity to put people’s perspectives into song to hopefully spread their message. Buffy Sainte-Marie wrote the song “Universal Soldier” in 1962 and her message was that “Universal Soldier is about individual responsibility for war and how the old feudal thinking kills us all” (Boulanger). The song “Universal Soldier” was used as a protest anthem during the Vietnam War and attempts to untangle one of the paradoxes of life that war never leads to peace through examining a soldier that is representative of every soldier in every nation.
In the Bogside area of Derry, there was a tragic incident known as Bloody Sunday or the Bogside Massacre for sometimes. Twenty-eight unarmed civilians were shot down by equipped British soldiers when protesting internment without trial introduced to deal with the escalating level of violence peacefully.(Gillespie). As a reaction to the tragedy, Bano in an Irish band called U2 wrote a protest song called Sunday Bloody Sunday, in which he asked for the peaceful future without conflicts. Repeating “how long must we sing this song?” among the whole lyric, this protest song Bano wrote utilized a peaceful way to depict the scenes of Bloody Sunday, the loathing for the horrible massacre, and their beautiful expects for the future filling with hopes.
Springsteen wrote “Devils & Dust” during the Iraq War. He has been openly against the war and has been quoted saying to Rolling Stone, “As the saying goes, "The first casualty of war is truth." I felt that the Bush doctrine of pre-emption was dangerous foreign policy. I don't think it has made America safer.” The song itself could be interpreted as a soldier’s point of view about the war but overall it stands as a critique on our society betraying its own principles. The first couple of verses in the song already evoke the image of a soldier stuck in a war. “I got my finger on the trigger / But I don’t know who to trust” could be understood as a soldier’s experience in war but it could also have a deeper meaning. It could also signify that our society has to make these important choices that will end up affecting people’s lives but it is all too ambiguous, there just isn’t any certainty. We are left with the desperate feeling of not knowing what to do, not knowing wh...
For those of us born at the end of the Vietnam War, much of the music from that time period can remain hidden unless we make a point of seeking it out. Radio is replete with “classic rock” format stations, but like all other forms of mass media, listeners are relegated to a passive role, with little means of changing play lists that more-often-than-not overstate the effect of the British Invasion to the detriment of American rockers. For every Led Zeppelin garnering large amounts of airplay, there is a Creedence Clearwater Revival that is overlooked. The problem with British rockers from the era of the Vietnam War is one of credibility: any British musician (such as John Lennon) who tried to protest the Vietnam War sounded contrived at best. How could a British group object to a war in which they had no direct stake? These attempts at protest by foreign bands against the Vietnam War have the appearance of an orchestrated effort to “get on the bandwagon” and sell albums by using the charged feelings of the citizenry toward an unpopular military action. While this is a cynical view, it is one that nevertheless deserves consideration.
Sullivan, Andrew. “This Is a Religious War.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 6 Oct. 2001,
Irish nationalists planned to take Dublin and all of Ireland by force and rid themselves of the British. On the morning of Monday April 24, 1916, the day after Easter, a force between 1,000 and 1,500 men and women began a rebellion that they hope...
Roston, Tom. "Two Heavyweights. One Great Story". In: Premiere (USA), Vol. 18, Iss. 9, June 2005, Pg. 102-106, (MG)
“Saint Valentines Day Massacre.” Britannica School. Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 2014. Web. 25 Feb. 2014. .
Hopkins, Alexander E. "Protest and Rock n' Roll During the Vietnam War." Student Pulse 4.11 (2012). http://www.studentpulse.com/a?id=713
The troubles refer to the age-old disputes over the control of Northern Ireland. Even though the arguments lasted for several centuries, things did not turn extremely violent until the 1960’s (Delaney). Many terrorists entered Northern Ireland during that time. Terrorists who entered the country were said to be okay, and there was nothing wrong with them. Letting the terrorists slip by without stopping them had very deadly consequences. Thousands of people died because of the terrorists invading Northern Ireland. Very few tried to stop the terrorists from coming into Northern Ireland (Graham). Those who did attempt to stop the terrorists were unsuccessful (De Breadun).
This song can be analyzed as “a strong condemnation of the people responsible for the atrocities of war and for the deaths and the blood that it brings, with particular reference to the Vietnam War.” (Wordsinthebucket.com). Using very judgemental lexicon to refer to those in charge of the Vietnam War (1954-1975), it expresses aggression and indignation by the repeated use of the word “you” as a targeted word. “You that hide behind walls, You that hide behind desks” (Dylan) exhibits the absence of the “sense of forgiveness” (Wordsinthebucket.com). During this time of war, all people felt the sorrow and the horror that repeatedly showed itself as death. Families lost their children in war while the government or the higher ranking individuals watched only to know how many more men to send off as replacement. Most of those who returned came back with both physical and psychological scars which would follow them forever. In this world, war is not infrequent and so this song