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Coldwar podcast, References: EEUU Y LA PUBLICIDAD: LOS 60s (III) -…

- - - - This second verse is the chorus of the song and is interpreted as if it were being said by soldiers who were drafted into the Vietnam War. Here the innocence and ignorance that the soldiers had in the face of war is clearly demonstrated. In line 7 the soldiers are shown to be counting in a playful tone, and immediately in line 8 one of the soldiers asks “what are we fighting for?”, to which in lines 9 and 10 another soldier replies “ don't ask me, I don't care; the next stop is Vietnam.”
        
        Immediately in line 11, it is shown the playful counting by the soldiers and in line 12 the soldiers are shown asking them to open the "pearly gates", which is an expression in English that refers to the doors from heaven. Continuously in line 13, the innocence that the song attributes to the soldiers is underlined since they say "well there is no time to wonder why" and in verse 14 they say "whoopee! We are all going to die”, “whoopee” being a childish expression of English speakers that emphasizes emotion or fun.
        
        The playful count in lines 7 and 11 is what allows this verse to enter a childish world in the soldiers, being a criticism by the song of the "recruit" or as it is called in English the "draft", where the American state carried out special round-ups in which they forced young men who had not enrolled in the militia to do military service (USAGov, 2021). This childish notion is also demonstrated in verse 14 by using the expression "whoopee", which is commonly used among children and young people.
        
        On the other hand, lines 8 and 9 show how lost the soldiers were in the face of the reason for the war, and lines 12, 13, and 14 show that despite their youth and innocence, they were still sufficiently conscious to know what awaited them in the near future during the battle; death.
    - - This first stranza is seen as if the US government were speaking to the population. In the first two lines the government calls out the “big strong men”, and tells them that “Uncle Sam”, meaning America needs their help again. In the lines 3 and 4 the government explains that it got into serious trouble far away in Vietnam, and in lines 5 and 6 it asks the "big strong men" to put down their books and grab their weapons since they are going to have a lot of fun.
        
        This stranza shows through satire what the United States was doing with the American population on different occasions during the cold war; encourage the population to join the army and fight wars in distant lands, where the soldiers did not know why they should do it.
        
        Likewise, when in lines two and three it says that the United States needs help again because it got into a serious problem, it does not explain what the problem is and why the war in Vietnam is related to the Americans, which portrays the confusion that American people and soldiers had as to why they should fight a war that, in their point of view, was none of their business. Finally, in line 6 it is sarcastically shown how the United States was trying to recruit the soldiers by sharing an image that was seen as positive towards the citizens and future soldiers.
    - - The song ends in the chorus.
    - - The third verse is interpreted as if the US government were speaking again, but this time not to the population, but to the army generals. Lines 15 and 16 confirm that what is said is indeed directed towards the generals by saying "well, come on generals, let's move fast" and "your big opportunity has finally arrived". Then in lines 17, 18, 19 and 20, it is interpreted in the song as the opinion of the American government during the cold war is demonstrated by telling the army generals that “now they can go grab those “reds” ( referring to the communists) because the only good “commie” (colloquially referring to the communists) is the one who is dead.” and “you know that peace can only be won when we have flown them all to “kingdom come””, that is, to heaven.
        
        This verse is the demonstration of what many of the people who were in the counterculture movement and in the hippie culture thought were the thoughts of the United States government during the cold war. It demonstrates the understanding that the purpose of all the wars that took place during those years had a common intention, which was to end the “commies”.
        
        When in lines 15, 16 and 17 the government tells the army generals that they should hurry up, and also expresses that their opportunity to finish off the communists has finally arrived, the intention that the United States had of finally winning this battle is highlighted. They wanted war without direct confrontation in their lands, and to put an end to the competition and ideological threat towards the capitalism of the moment, which was communism.
        
        Likewise, in lines 19 and 20 when they say that peace can only be obtained when all the communists are blown up into the sky, it alludes to the fact that the US government had no plans to surrender at any time, and that the only way to that all these wars and conflicts would stop was with the extinction of the communists and their political, economic and social ideal.
    - - "I feel like I'm fixin to die rag" refers to the Americans who were being drafted into the war (specifically the Vietnam war) and how by participating in that battle they felt that they would be applying to die and end up as a "rag".
    - - This fifth verse mentions the economic growth that the war generates to the different companies and to the stock market with the weapon trade that happens during war, saying in line 29 “let's go Wall Street (alluding to all the big important companies, offices, and the stock market of the United States) don't be slow” and in line 30 “because man, this is war au-ve-ve”.
        
        The economic benefit of the conflict is indicated by stating in lines 31 and 32 that "there is a lot of good money to be made by supplying the army with the tools of their trade." Then in lines 33 and 34 the lack of interest of the American government in the deaths generated by the conflicts is manifested, and it shows that the government was more concerned in avoiding the loss of money that being bombed would bring by saying "but just hope and pray that if drop the bomb, drop it on the Viet Cong (ie the communist side of Vietnam.
        
        This verse shows the thought of the counterculture and the hippie culture against the exploitation of companies and rich people who benefit from the war and their points of view against it in lines 29, 30, 31, and 32. They criticize the people who benefit from the war, and the war itself in lines 33 and 34 by demonstrating the lack of interest of "Wall Street" in what happened to the soldiers, and instead showing their full economic interest.
        
        This verse is a critique of the capitalist system and wars by expressing that the rich men and large companies had a vision that is in favor of war since they benefit economically from it, while most of the soldiers who died trying to defend and watch over the interests of their country died on the battlefield without any benefit at all. (Genius Lyrics, 2021).
    - - The seventh verse is interpreted as being said by the United States government to the population. In lines 43, 44, 45 and 46 an encouraging government towards the idea of fathers sending their sons to the army is shown by saying “come mothers throughout the land (ie throughout the country), pack your children to Vietnam” and “come on parents, don't hesitate to send your children before it's too late”. Then the song changes that encouraging tone to a tone of sarcasm and black humor saying in lines 47 and 48 "and you can be the first on your street to have your son come home in a box."
        
        This verse expresses what was seen to be the government's action against the population and encouraging them to join the militia. The government encouraged American families to send their children to war so that they would be exemplary soldiers and a source of pride for the families and peoples they represented when what actually happened to them is that they ended up being one of the many soldiers who died on the battlefield (in this case in Vietnam) trying to defend American capitalism against Soviet communism.
        
        American support for joining the military is shown in lines 43,44,45 and 46, while the sarcasm and black humor of the reality of what those families lived through if they sent their children to war is shown in the lines 47 and 48.
- - - - In the chorus that follows the first verse, the vocalist reveals the meaning of the title. And it is symbolic of his belief that our “destruction” is imminent.
        
        It does not necessarily read as if he believes in the prophesied end of the world per se.
    - - In the introduction of the song, we can analyze that aspects about the war are mentioned, such as, for example, explosions, violence and weapons reloading ammunition and we can relate this to the cold war.
        
        Despite the fact that the cold war was not in itself an armed war but rather an industrial and economic war, this was the main reason why other wars arose, such as the Vietnam War, an armed war in which there were deaths , violence and is related to the introduction of the lyrics of the song.
    - - In the bridge of the song, we can analyze that it talks about a possible concern that is felt because the world's path leads to a grave, this is expressed by means of a button and they say that if this button is pressed, no one is going to be saved and the world will remain in a tomb and terror.
        
        Therefore, this is related to the cold war, since in the case of this war, if any world power were to act violently and militarily against another country, this would have been a world war and the "end of the world" therefore this attack was related to pressing the button as mentioned in the song.
    - - In the fourth verse, the vocalist further drives the point home that at the core of his gripe with mankind is a proliferation of hate.
        
        Under his estimation, the same human rights’ atrocities that are transpiring in “Red China” are akin to those being perpetrated in “Selma, Alabama”.
    - - In the other of the song we can see that it is said mainly about how it is emphasized to someone else that they are on the eve of destruction, and we can relate this to the cold war.
        
        Since as we know, in the cold war there is no there was destruction itself but there was a lot of economic destruction in some countries since this war was fundamentally economic.
    - - "If the button is pushed, there's no running away
        There'll be no one to save with the world in a grave"/.
        
        Considerando el pre coro se ve la introducción a la salvación de la humanidad, usando los botones como una metáfora para mostrar la ansiedad y los daños irreversibles. Mostrando con palabras tales como "huir" un sentimiento de desesperación para salir de ese caos.
    - - Now one thing we didn’t reveal about the nature of the chorus earlier is that, as inferred, this song is meant to be an argument.
        
        That is to say that the addressee would be someone who is not convinced that we are on the “eve of destruction”.
      - The vocalist goes about noting what has been delineated above. And at the end of the day, what it’s really about isn’t really focusing on any one country but the perceived hateful state of the world at large.
- - - - Relation to the theme
  - - - Relation to the theme:
  - - - The tone could be recognized as overall, serious and somber, meant to suggest that wartime is related to tragedy.
        
        Relation to the theme:
  - - - There are 3 types of tones: Non assertive, aggressive, and assertive.
        
        A nonassertive tone says to says to the audience, that there no self confidence.
        
        An aggressive tone i linked to a non professional tone, come as an overbearing tone. Could be seen as mean or rude.
        
        Assertive tone is friendly and warm, it uses respectful words, relates to conflict solution,
      - To infer the tone explain how the author uses each of the following elements: diction, imagery, details, language, and syntax.
- - - - The introduction begins with the verse "The US forces give the go-ahead" referring to the approval of this country for the cold war and how, thanks to this affirmative decision, they intervene militarily. Then the band goes on to mention "It's a setback for your country" where the impacts of the war in any field are implied, this implies their point of view on the war, and how despite the possible technological advances or the benefits of it, each country involved will continue to be affected.
    - - This song again uses the chorus as an outro, giving the song a closure that makes an impact on the listener.
    - - The choir of the song continues to support the arguments and comments of the previous parts, where a perspective is carried as a community indicating how they are waiting for the next big thing, to reflect the uncertainty and misinformation of the population.
    - - After a general perspective is given and the band's opinion on the general war is established, and specifically on the cold war, providing a criticism of the decisions of the United States, a stanza continues where the CIA is mentionned. It played a role in the cold war and controlled numerous covert activities and operations, sabotage or infiltration, led a secret agreement known as Demagnetize whose objective was to curb the growing influence of the Italian and French communist parties, in collaboration with the services Italian secrets. For this reason, the control of the power of this organization is mentioned in the stanza, inhibiting the community and the other countries involved in the cold war to take action against communism.
    - - This stanza explains the impacts that war can have on society, mentioning "Children at high risk" and the wait for "the meat of tomorrow" which symbolizes the deplorable conditions that were being experienced during this period of time.
    - - The title of the song gives the listener a general context of the main theme of the song, explaining how all the lyrics and the purpose of the song point to US military intervention, the military-industrial complex and the effects of alliance building of the Cold War.
        
        With the title "U.S Forces" it is possible to understand the point of view