# Edwin Starr - War, did the song's meaning get lost?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/edwin-starr-war-did-the-songs-meaning-get-lost/1008840>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Tags:** music\
**Created:** [October 15, 2024, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/edwin-starr-war-did-the-songs-meaning-get-lost/1008840 "2024-10-15T17:37:25Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 3

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**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\
**Post date:** [October 16, 2024, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/edwin-starr-war-did-the-songs-meaning-get-lost/1008840/41 "2024-10-16T20:16:25Z")

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> [@Seanette](#):
>
> > [@Voyager](#):
> >
> > In “Jingo” one of the Night Watch, more or less conscripted, quotes these lines. Nobby responds “getting rid of evil dictators, for one.” I don’t own that one, so that is very vaguely what he says.  
> > pTerry says it best, as usual.
> 
> Haven’t gotten around to reading Discworld (yet), but from what I’ve seen about it, should be worthwhile when I feel like tackling that much backlog.

It’s worth the effort.

I suggest you read _Pryamids_ first, not because it’s particularly representative of the series, but to get it out of the way so you can grok all the “pTerry” nonsense that people seem to be so fond of.

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**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\
**Post date:** [October 16, 2024, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/edwin-starr-war-did-the-songs-meaning-get-lost/1008840/42 "2024-10-16T20:55:43Z")

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> [@Seanette](#):
>
> I can never get past the fact that a black man doesn’t seem to recognize that slaves were freed as a result of a war (US Civil War, for those in other countries). “Absolutely nothing”, huh?

I strongly suspect that, as an academic matter, the artists involved, whether as singer or songwriter, absolutely recognized that slaves were freed as a result of the Civil War, but doubtlessly they also realized that a great many black men (among others) were dying in their own time from a needless war that was in fact bound to end by accomplishing nothing (for the US and the Americans who died there, at least).

But, as often happens with art, they chose to sacrifice literal truth for narrative simplicity and contemporary relevance. Story Truth (a particular message) over literal truth (mere fact).

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**Author:** ![XOldiesJock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/ec9cab/32.png) [@XOldiesJock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XOldiesJock)\
**Post date:** [October 16, 2024, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/edwin-starr-war-did-the-songs-meaning-get-lost/1008840/43 "2024-10-16T22:08:23Z")

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> [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](#):
>
> _Wait till you learn who sang “Cat’s in the Cradle”…_

Uhh…Cat Stevens?

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**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\
**Post date:** [October 16, 2024, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/edwin-starr-war-did-the-songs-meaning-get-lost/1008840/44 "2024-10-16T23:58:12Z")

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No, that’s “Yusuf’s in the Cradle.”

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