Listen to this when
Hero of War
For the weight you carry after the uniform comes off 🎖️
Who it's for
A young man joins up hoping to be a hero and comes home carrying memories of cruelty he took part in and witnessed.
Guilt-ridden→Honest and unburdened
Feelings it meets
What it is
"Hero of War" is an acoustic song from Rise Against's 2008 album Appeal to Reason. Tim McIlrath wrote it from the perspective of a young man drawn into enlisting by promises of adventure and money, who in war takes part in the mistreatment of a prisoner and the killing of a civilian and loses his earlier patriotism. Back home, he rejects the praise of those who call him a hero.
Where to find it
All major streaming services.
Before you start
Heads up: War violence and abuse of prisoners.
Age: Suggested 16+
Under a government which imprisons any unjustly, the true place for a just man is also a prison.Henry David Thoreau, On the Duty of Civil Disobedience
