whitesail

…mama I don’t wanna die…

I Don’t Want To Be A Soldier.mp3

Well I don’t wanna be a soldier mamma, I don’t wanna die
Well I don’t wanna be a sailor mamma, I don’t wanna fly
Well I don’t wanna be a failure mamma, I don’t wanna cry
Well I don’t wanna be a soldier mamma, I don’t wanna die
Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no

This song is just continuing to blow me away. It’s off of the new Cowboy Junkies cd titled Early 21st Century Blues. It’s a cover of the John Lennon song off of the Imagine album if I remember correctly. The song starts off with a very funky drum and bass thing, after which a guitar enters, followed by another and then Margo’s sultry voice. The whole sound is different for the band, but remains very familiar due to Margo’s distinctive vocal. Then it gets different…..

Well I don’t wanna be a rich man mamma, I don’t wanna cry
Well I don’t wanna be a poor man mamma, I don’t wanna fly
Well I don’t wanna be a lawyer mamma, I don’t wanna lie
Well I don’t wanna be a soldier mamma, I don’t wanna die
Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no

One thing you must know is that I don’t like rap and hip-hop. Most of it just plain bugs me and a lot of it I actively hate. I don’t like people yelling at me. The only rap I can handle is the mellower rap like Snoop Dogg and stuff like that. There’s that Coolio song from that Michelle Pfeiffer movie that I liked, and it was because of the soulful vocal that accompanied the rap. That’s the thing…..I love melody. I need melody in music. It’s part of the deal for me. And most rap is utterly devoid of any real melody.

So this song by the band I love most turns into a rap song. Some cat named Rebel joined in and starts rapping. And it’s okay…until the key changes and Margo’s voice joins and I realize that I’ve just heard perfection by this band yet again. When his first rap ends, he says, “You better feel it…” and then Mike turns in a scorching guitar solo that sends more shivers up my spine and I’m thinking, “Rap can work when you have the right people playing with them…”

The bass and drums on this song are tight. I mean tight. The part I love in both raps is when the key changes and Margo joins in with Rebel. It is just amazing.

Sometimes my eyes
Can’t believe what they see,
On TV, young like me sent over seas
Sent over greed I believe
Is this what we need?
Yo these guys like me.
To add fire to the fuel
Life twisted my views
Just from flicking the news
I gives me the early 21st century blues
But we making it threw
Make what you make it
You can’t redo what you do
I’m the living proof making it threw the 21st century blues
Peace.