Lest we forget 11/11/11

Subject: Lest we forget 11/11/11
From: Arthur_itus
Date: 11 Nov 11 - 04:51 AM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKYG2_OlNTQ&feature=related

Subject: Lyr Add: FOR THE FALLEN (Laurence Binyon)
From: Nigel Parsons
Date: 11 Nov 11 - 05:53 AM

For The fallen

With proud thanksgiving, a mother for her children,
England mourns for her dead across the sea.
Flesh of her flesh they were, spirit of spirit,
Fallen in the cause of the free.

Solemn the drums thrill: Death august and royal
Sings sorrow up into immortal spheres.
There is music in the midst of desolation
And a glory that shines upon our tears.

They went with songs to the battle, they were young,
Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow.
They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted,
They fell with their faces to the foe.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old;
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

They mingle not with laughing comrades again;
They sit no more at familiar tables of home;
They have no lot in our labour of the day-time;
They sleep beyond England's foam.

But where our desires are and our hopes profound,
Felt as a well-spring that is hidden from sight,
To the innermost heart of their own land they are known
As the stars are known to the Night;

As the stars that shall be bright when we are dust,
Moving in marches upon the heavenly plain,
As the stars that are starry in the time of our darkness,
To the end, to the end, they remain.

• For The Fallen was first published in the Times on September 21 1914. Laurence Binyon (1869-1943) wrote it while working at the British Museum, and did not go to the western front until 1916, as a Red Cross orderly. The poem's fourth verse is now used all over the world during services of remembrance, and is inscribed on countless war monuments.

Subject: Lyr Add: IN FLANDERS FIELDS (John McRea)
From: Nigel Parsons
Date: 11 Nov 11 - 05:57 AM

As we approach the 11th hour here in Cardiff:

For one origin of the Poppy as a symbol for those lost. A poem by John McRea

In Flanders Fields
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Subject: RE: Lest we forget 11/11/11
From: MGM·Lion
Date: 11 Nov 11 - 06:30 AM

Half-an-hour ago, Emma and I took care to observe our own two-minute silence.

~Michael~

Subject: RE: Lest we forget 11/11/11
From: Pete Jennings
Date: 11 Nov 11 - 08:49 AM

Me too.

Subject: RE: Lest we forget 11/11/11
From: katlaughing
Date: 11 Nov 11 - 10:51 AM

Thanks for the link to Bogle's song. It made me curious about the songs mentioned in it, so here is the Flowers of the Forest. There are several videos of The Last Post, equally moving.

As part of the USA contingent (our Veteran's Day is today) I offer I Was Only 19.

Remembering my Uncle Howard, badly wounded on Guadacanal and Uncle Courtney for service in same war.

Subject: RE: Lest we forget 11/11/11
From: GUEST,Gail
Date: 11 Nov 11 - 11:08 AM

It was moving to see scores of students (normally preparing to get drunk by this time on a Friday) standing still and silent around my university campus at 11:00 today.

Subject: RE: Lest we forget 11/11/11
From: GUEST,mg
Date: 11 Nov 11 - 12:13 PM

Ich hatte einem komaraden

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVpM8OPixds


Mein guter komarade

R.I.P. mg

Subject: RE: Lest we forget 11/11/11
From: wilbyhillbilly
Date: 11 Nov 11 - 12:16 PM

My humble tribute to all involved

Click Here

Subject: RE: Lest we forget 11/11/11
From: GUEST,GUEST in Madison WI
Date: 11 Nov 11 - 01:21 PM

I play a series of songs every year to commemorate the day and hour, including:
The Writing of Tipperary/Tipperary--June Tabor
Great War Trilogy--Roberts and Barrand
11:11--Garnet Rogers

Along with the Eric Bogle classics and a few other songs,
these follow the war from beginning to end--
if it ever really does end, when you think of the long-term effects.

My respect to all who (without helping to bring it on) suffered through that senseless carnage.

Subject: RE: Lest we forget 11/11/11
From: Genie
Date: 11 Nov 11 - 02:00 PM

It's 11:00 AM Pacific Standard Time.

Subject: Lest we forget 11/11/1918 & 11/11/2011
From: Genie
Date: 11 Nov 11 - 02:11 PM

Two minutes of silence observed, in honor and remembrance, not just of those who died in our wars, but also of those who are serving now or have served before and who are still living or who, like my dad and my uncle, have gone on but were not casualties of war. And in remembrance of the armistice of 11:00 AM Nov. 11, 1918, which was supposed to be an "end (to) all wars." Obviously "the war to end all wars" was not, but we can still hope.

Subject: RE: Lest we forget 11/11/11
From: katlaughing
Date: 11 Nov 11 - 02:32 PM

In the meantime, according to NPR, eighteen veterans commit suicide in the USA every day. A lot of them are Viet Nam vets and almost all suffer from some effect of whatever conflict they were in.

On the other hand, I heard a wonderful piece, yesterday, on NPR about homeless vets being helped by former homeless vets. It was really uplifting and humbling to hear about.

So here's not only to the fallen, but those who go on and try to live out their lives despite such great odds.

Subject: RE: Lest we forget 11/11/11
From: Desert Dancer
Date: 11 Nov 11 - 08:08 PM

Vets Write Music To Heal The Wounds Of War, an NPR item today.

Veteran's Day is the day when Americans remember and thank members of the armed forces who fought in foreign wars. Nearly 1.4 million men and women have left the service since serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. A group of musicians in San Marcos, Tex., just down the highway from Austin, has started a songwriting workshop especially for returning veterans, believing that composing music can help a person heal from the wounds of war.

Beefy former Marine Buddy Lee Dobberteen is a regular at the weekly songwriters circle at Cheatham Street Warehouse, a renowned club in San Marcos that smells of ashtrays and spilled beer. The 31-year-old former platoon sergeant is trying to fashion a life back home after three tours in Iraq. Wounded by a roadside bomb and rifle fire, he says he is 100 percent disabled, and suffering from traumatic brain injury, PTSD and multiple other injuries. For five years, Sgt. Dobberteen survived the war in Iraq. Now, musician Buddy Lee Dobberteen wants to write a good song.

"My goal is to become a professional songwriter in the business," Dobberteen says. "Actually my goal is to help other veterans to realize you don't need to sit in your room with a handgun. There's a better life out there for you to live. Your life wasn't over in Iraq — it gave you a helluva lot of songs, you know?"

Doberteen lives with his wife, Tyra, a schoolteacher, in the hill country west of San Marcos. He drives to a VA hospital in San Antonio periodically for continuing operations on his hand, shoulder and knee. Because the bomb blast injured his eyes, he wears dark glasses even in the dim bar.

"I wanted to be a career Marine and it didn't work out," Doberteen says. "It's funny because God actually told me I was gonna write songs and I didn't have the ability. So how am I ever going to write a song?"

The project has come to be known as Voices of a Grateful Nation. That's also the title of two CDs of songs written and performed by Texas artists in honor of returning veterans. One of the project's cofounders was Charlie Gallagher, a drummer and real estate broker.

"I felt like it was important when we went into the war that when these boys came home that we did something we didn't do for my friends that came back from Vietnam," Gallagher says.

About 30 vets have come through the songwriting program in its four years of existence. Most have accepted a free guitar, listened to some pointers from the pros, and drifted off. Mentor and up-and-coming Austin singer-songwriter Dustin Welch says "a lot of 'em are pretty beat up." He's at the club every Monday night to work with the vets who want to learn how to compose a song.

"You know, it's a way of talking about this stuff without having to stand up and be feeling like they're pouring their heart our or be sitting on a couch talking to a therapist or anything," Welch says.

Dobberteen is the most successful — and ambitious — student the songwriters workshop has had. He's using the GI bill to take an online class in studio production with the Berkelee College of Music, he fronts his own band and he's a passionate songwriter. It's a far cry from his mental state when he left the Marines and moved to Texas.

"I literally wanted to commit suicide, and I'm productive," Dobberteen says. "Next week I'm goin' on tour. The only other tour I was doing was bar to bar to drink all the beer outta the bars at night, raisin' hell. And now I got a purpose. What more can you ask for out of an organization?"

Subject: RE: Lest we forget 11/11/11
From: ChanteyLass
Date: 11 Nov 11 - 10:24 PM

Random musical thoughts:
Last Saturday night at Stone Soup, John McCutcheon sang Christmas in the Trenches.
My eyes always fill with tears when I hear Taps.

Subject: RE: Lest we forget 11/11/11
From: katlaughing
Date: 12 Nov 11 - 12:32 AM

Thanks for that, Desert Dancer. Brings tears to my eyes as do the two songs you spoke of, ChanteyLass.

Subject: RE: Lest we forget 11/11/11
From: Lizzie Cornish 1
Date: 12 Nov 11 - 03:22 AM

Lest we forget


Following on from Desert Dancer's post:
Voices of a Grateful Nation

Subject: RE: Lest we forget 11/11/11
From: GloriaJ
Date: 12 Nov 11 - 08:56 AM

There was a very moving programme on BBC2 last night - called something like Art For Heroes - which showed ex-servicemen struggling with trauma after service. Some had been suffering for over 20 years.They found art(in this case "plastic art" i.e. not music) to be therapeutic - but the work they produced was actually very good too.
I've put up a version of Flowers Of The Forest on youtube as a small commemoration - I'll take it down after tomorrow
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EefFBBUbiGk

Subject: RE: Lest we forget 11/11/11
From: GloriaJ
Date: 12 Nov 11 - 08:57 AM

Did it wrong - here it is
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EefFBBUbiGk

Subject: RE: Lest we forget 11/11/11
From: Commander Crabbe
Date: 12 Nov 11 - 10:47 AM

Their names shall never cease.

The Devonshire Carol / Stand To

From "War Horse"

CC

Subject: RE: Lest we forget 11/11/11
From: Arthur_itus
Date: 13 Nov 11 - 02:58 AM

True story about the Accrington Pals by Mike Harding.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTpjOfEgPGk

Subject: RE: Lest we forget 11/11/11
From: GUEST
Date: 13 Nov 11 - 03:54 AM

"..And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda" always hits a nerve for me

Subject: RE: Lest we forget 11/11/11
From: Leadfingers
Date: 13 Nov 11 - 06:10 AM

My two 'Standards' for this time of year are Eric Bogle's " All the Fine Young Men" and Harvey Andrews "Hans" .

And while I am here , June Tabor may have recorded "The Writing of Tipperary" but it was written by Bill Caddick and is on his 'Sunny Memories' album

Subject: RE: Lest we forget 11/11/11
From: George Papavgeris
Date: 13 Nov 11 - 06:21 PM

Three songs are closest to my feelings on the day: Eric Bogle's "The gift of years" and "The band played..." and Robb Johnson's "When Harry took me to Ypres".

On Friday morning, listening to Andrew Motion being interviewed, someone (I think it was AM himself) mentioned an expression that struck a cord: "the bittersweet silence" - referring to the two minutes' silence as a mark of respect. It stuck in the head, and today, bit by bit, gave birth to the following, which encapsulates all my thinking on the subject:

Subject: Lyr Add: THE BITTERSWEET SILENCE
From: George Papavgeris
Date: 13 Nov 11 - 06:23 PM

The Bittersweet Silence
(GP, 13/11/2011)

In the bittersweet silence
Wind, don't hide in the trees
Birds, don't give up your song
Bees, your humming don't ease
You're the prize that's been won
And the price that's been paid
By the ones gone before
For the ones that remained

In the bittersweet silence
Children, don't stop your play
Lovers, don't break your kiss
Laughter, don't go away
You're the signposts of life
And the pleasures so dear
To the ones left behind
Yet in mind always near

Never again. Never again. Never, never, never again!

So don't stare at the ground
As the seconds pass by
And don't ask Who or How
Ask instead only "Why?"
In the bittersweet silence
There's a lesson untold
By the ones who stayed young
So we'd learn to grow old

Never again. Never again. Never, never, never again!