Beat remains constant, the cords are pulsing, but the lyrics give a listener a reason to think. The Foo Fighters make a statement of rebellion against war in their new song “The Pretender.” Thou the song is one of thousands of songs made to protest war it still is a fact that war is raging still in a time such as the 21st century. The lyrics in the song can be dark and eerie.
In the beginning lyrics of the song, “Send in your skeletons sing as their bones go marching in…again.” Clearly these lyrics have a reference to soldiers and the death of soldiers. If by “marching in…again” the soldiers are going somewhere and where the soldiers are going is to death. Skeletons marching to somewhere and singing as they depart can be construed to mean they are leaving for a battle. In a general thought, these lyrics are that war is a means of death and nothing more to the mind set of the speaker. By claiming the soldiers are nothing more than bones gives a depressing view about the hope of living once the soldiers leave and march to their demise. The speaker continues on with a sad almost hopeless view that war is never ending.
By the middle of the lyrics the speaker says: “I’m the voice inside your head you refuse to hear I’m the face that you have to face mirrored in your stare I’m what’s left, I’m what’s right I’m the enemy I’m the hand that will take you down bring you to your knees.” These lyrics are essential to the entire song. First the speaker has been introduced as a voice of reason and is speaking directly to the person who is the pretender. Next the speaker introduces himself to the pretender and then makes the claims of taking the pretender down. These lyrics are a threat from the speaker to the pretender to say he, the speaker, is talking no more of reason and will take action to reach his goals of defeating the pretender.
The persona of the speaker is as the lyrics suggest a voice of reason. The speaker is repeating that he is an individual void of thinking the same way of the pretender. The chorus asks the question of what if I (the speaker) say I’m not like the others (skeletons)? The speaker makes a clear statement to the pretender that he will not conform and be another skeleton. If the speaker can stand up for himself then maybe others will stand with him to fight against the pretender. The speaker rails against the pretender and speaks to a very specific crowd.
The song is rock and roll and a common listener of this song would be someone who is in their late teens and far into their twenty’s. The audience is narrow but it is well suited for the fact that the song is loud and fast. The artist of the song never muffles the lyrics under the music of the song, so any average listener could he what he sing about. By doing the lyrics and music at the same level of sound allows the artist to get his message out in form that a teenager can digest. Teenagers and young adults can certainly just dance to the fast beat of the song and not catch a word to miss the all the anti-war lyrics. Listening to the song over and over a listener could be aware of the dark lyric about skeletons, as mentioned above teenagers might not here all the lyrics and take the time to analyze the text, but maybe hearing a few lyrics and singing with the song could grow some anti-war feelings as teenagers can be impressionable.
The artist is making statements of ethos and reason to a young audience. Restating over and over that he won’t pretend and is taking up action should draw a following of others to stand with him and follow his bold actions. A leader is what the speaker is and he appeals to his audience in sad manner by stating that skeletons are marching off to battle. The listener may have some reason to follow the artist but his message can be lost by playing the lyrics with loud and fast rock and roll.
The song is rock and roll dance music with a political statement to be found underneath the music. If the artist makes a statement against war his message can be lost in the loud head banging song that he created with the lyrics. At best the song might change a few people’s mind-set about war, but for the most part the song feels like a good crowd dancing head banging jam for a concert performed in front of a few thousand teens screaming the chorus line. The crowds of listeners to this song are young and still maturing into their adulthood
The song is the speaker refusing to pretend that he will see war as something good. With his statement against war and standing up by himself should inspire his listeners to follow his thoughts about independent thinking, but it still is a head banging song. A truly remarkable song that reveals the speakers hate towards war and the pretender who he is taking actions against.
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