Is this suitable for a speech on belonging? (1 Viewer)

[roboboogie]

I was only 19 (a walk in the light green).

Mum and Dad and Denny saw the passing-out parade at Puckapunyal
It was a long march from cadets.
The sixth battalion was the next to tour, and it was me who drew the card.
We did Canungra, Shoalwater before we left.

And Townsville lined the footpaths as we marched down to the quay
This clipping from the paper shows us young and strong and clean.
And there's me in my slouch hat with my SLR and greens.
God help me, I was only nineteen.

From Vung Tau, riding Chinooks, to the dust at Nui Dat
I'd been in and out of choppers now for months.
But we made our tents a home, VB and pinups on the lockers
And an Asian orange sunset through the scrub.

And can you tell me, doctor, why I stil can't get to sleep?
And night-time's just a jungle dark and a barking M16?
And what's this rash that comes and goes, can you tell me what it means?
God help me, I was only ninteen.

A four week operation when each step could mean your last one on two legs
It was a war within yourself.
But you wouldn't let your mates down til they had you dusted off
So you closed your eyes and thought about something else.

Then someone yelled out "Contact!" and the bloke behind me swore
We hooked in there for hours, then a Godalmighty roar
Frankie kicked a mine the day that mankind kicked the moon,
God help me, he was going home in June.

I can still see Frankie, drinking tinnies in the Grand Hotel
On a thirty-six hour rec leave in Vung Tau
And I can still hear Frankie, lying screaming in the jungle
Til the morphine came and killed the bloody row.

And the Anzac legends didn't mention mud and blood and tears
And the stories that my father told me never seemed quite real.
I caught some pieces in my back that I didn't even feel
God help me, I was only nineteen.

And can you tell me, doctor, why I still can't get to sleep?
And why the Channel Seven chopper chills me to my feet?
And what's this rash that comes and goes, can you tell me what it means?
God help me, I was only nineteen.

 

[annabackwards]

Yep, it'd be suitable.

 

[roboboogie]

Would it be best to use ideas like belonging to aus etc

 

[AJ92]

Yep - has good links to relationships/identity/a heightened understanding, all of which are important for belonging (see rubric )

Remember that as a song, dont just analyse the words, its VERY important to also analyse the music.
Also, make sure it can be linked to your core text - it will make things a LOT easier

 

[roboboogie]

Its mostly just a talked song, with some guitar - I suppose that introduces sincerity?

And Im unsure as to which angle I should take.... Belonging in the fact you belong to your battalion, using Austrlaia stereotypes, but then again not belonging because they are in Vietnam

 

[bored of sc]

An interesting slant you could take is the idea of the facade of the glory of war.

The glory of war is emphasised in the first and second stanzas until it reaches the refrain: 'God help me, I was only nineteen'. By the conclusion of the song we are saddened by the reality of the war: bloodshed, death and it's terrible consequences. So I guess you could say belonging to the Australian soldiers/the war effort is dangerous and negative for the individual.

Also, in terms of context, the Vietnam war was 'unpopular' and the veterans were not welcomed home in a spirit of unity and national pride. I'm not sure if this directly relates to this text.