Artista: James Blunt
Album: Back To Bedlam
No Bravery
Intro, Verse & Chorus
Am E G F#\D
There are children standing here,
Arms outstretched into the sky,
Tears drying on their face.
He has been here.
Brothers lie in shallow graves.
Fathers lost without a trace.
A nation blind to their disgrace,
Since he's been here.
And I see no bravery,
No bravery in your eyes anymore.
Only sadness.
Out: F D
Houses burnt beyond repair.
The smell of death is in the air.
A woman weeping in despair says,
He has been here.
Tracer lighting up the sky.
It's another families‚ turn to die.
A child afraid to even cry out says,
He has been here.
And I see no bravery,
No bravery in your eyes anymore.
Only sadness.
There are children standing here,
Arms outstretched into the sky,
But no one asks the question why,
He has been here.
Old men kneel and accept their fate.
Wives and daughters cut and raped.
A generation drenched in hate.
Yes, he has been here.
And I see no bravery,
No bravery in your eyes anymore.
Only sadness.
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Tab Discussion, Comments, and Critiques
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Josh Average |
#1 by Josh Duncan at Sep 26, 2007 at 11:16 PM EST |
| i doubt that "he" refers to George Bush, Tony Blair etc. as he said himself that he wrote it whilst in kosovo, i agree with BlazeME that it was probably the serbs....or war itself. Anyway top song. The words really hit me hard about the damage of war | |
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Buck Wanna Be |
#2 by Buck Naked at Sep 27, 2007 at 6:52 AM EST |
| I'm not sure that when James wrote this song he was actually referring to a particular human or even group of humans. I think "he" could simply mean destruction. The chaos brought about by human greed, not any particular human himself. In contrast, imagine that the song is different and the lyrics read "she has been here". The unknown force is now female - the destruction is gone and this song would be about a happy even or something great. At worst it would be about the disappointment that "she" is gone. | |
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Lianna Average |
#3 by Lianna Basile at Sep 27, 2007 at 4:41 PM EST |
| I personaly think this is a grate song. one of my favorites. I know that james blunt used to serve in the army and fought in kosivo and that he wrote it during this time. After reading the lyrics i have came to a conclution that, "HE" could either mean two things. The first being the evil of more precicly the devil controling mans actions. Or prehaps "he" could mean war, and the devistation and sadness that it brings. Either way "he" is bad and acording to the song is causing a lot of pain and sadness. Still, even tho it is quite a depresing song, it is still one of my favorites. | |
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Lenny Ramone Wanna Be |
#4 by Lenny Ramone at Sep 27, 2007 at 7:15 PM EST |
| At first I thought 'he' couldn't mean 'war' because of the 'anymore' that follows, but if he (JB) was raised in an environment that preached that the freedoms of life are worth dying for, and then suddenly got thrown into the harsh reality of Kosovo, it makes plenty of sense. | |
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Allen Average |
#5 by Allen Stone at Sep 28, 2007 at 2:51 AM EST |
| its a great and emotional song, almost makes me cry because I have worked in kosovo aswell (aid efforts). I think "he" is the serbs, who were the one who drove out the kosovans and proformed all of the acts listed here. Its all true and more people, I've seen it. | |
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Callum Wanna Be |
#6 by Callum Parker at Sep 28, 2007 at 5:13 PM EST |
| this song is so beautiful. im in love. its just incredible. james has a great talent in expressing what he has witnessed in kosovo into an amazing song. for some reason he reminds me of jeff buckley. "There are children standing here, Arms outstretched into the sky, Tears drying on their face. He has been here...... ....................... Old men kneel and accept their fate. Wives and daughters cut and raped. A generation drenched in hate. Yes, he has been here." if that doesnt stir up emotions in you there is something wrong with you. the entire song is touching and heart-wrenching. | |
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Craig Average |
#7 by Craig Brotschi at Sep 28, 2007 at 11:33 PM EST |
| I actually really agree with whoever said that "He" was probably referring to Chaos and/or Destruction. I guess it could be referring to war itself. 1 2 3 Next | |
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matt Average |
#8 by matt spolsky at Sep 29, 2007 at 7:50 AM EST |
| Yeah I think 'he' is just war in general. How it seperates families, and just destroys everything. That what's in it's path and where it goes, just gets ruined when war comes. | |
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Murders in the Average |
#9 by Murders in the Rue Morgue at Sep 29, 2007 at 3:08 PM EST |
| Without adding names, I thought 'He' was Satan acting through Man. Whoever the man may be - similar to Dire Straits's Brother's in Arms... | |
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Zero Average |
#10 by Zero Life at Sep 29, 2007 at 8:37 PM EST |
| Yea I was wondering the same thing -- who is the 'he' ? I first assumed it was God.. but having read the lyrics and what Pondieman said I think I assumed utterly wrongly lol. James Blunt is already one of my favourite artists I think.. He'll be BIG i reckon. Oh yea, beautiful song. All of his are ace :P | |
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skinny Wanna Be |
#11 by skinny mcclaine at Sep 29, 2007 at 9:06 PM EST |
| I haven't actually heard the song yet, but I have read the lyrics...they hit me hard when I read them, very strong lyrics, extremely relevant to today, I love James Blunt - he seems very level-headed and aware. | |
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Viktoria Wanna Be |
#12 by Viktoria Sashalmi at Sep 30, 2007 at 6:37 AM EST |
| blunt is a very good songwriter... ... im not sure if this has been suggested yet or not but, i believe, the "he" is referring to the devil or evil... maybe? | |
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Eric Lead Player |
#13 by Eric Hanstein at Sep 30, 2007 at 7:21 PM EST |
| Forgot to add what it really means to me... I see it as a true live account of Jame's Blunts encounters in Kosovo. A country of a broken people being driven out of their homes and lives because of Ethnic differences. One man and his "army" decided they no longer had the RIGHT to live. "No bravery in your eyes anymore. Only sadness.", must depict how hopeless you would feel after loosing everything, your identity, your family, your life. | |
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Mark Average |
#14 by Mark McL at Sep 30, 2007 at 10:11 PM EST |
| This song is indeed very very moving... Especially if you know more about Kosovo than "it was war, and war is stupid". "HE" refers to Milosevic with his band of killing, raping, looting scum that ravaged Kosovo and commited Genocide. Web search Genocide Kosovo and you'll see what I mean. And for all you Bush haters out there... CLINTON was in office during Kosovo. No leader is perfect and war and any involvement can never be handled well. | |
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Paul Average |
#15 by Paul at Oct 1, 2007 at 12:21 AM EST |
| Incredible song - apparently written whilst James was serving in the British Army in Kosovo. Stunning observation on the futility of war and the devastating effects to all involved. The lyrics say it all. | |
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Will Average |
#16 by Will Yost at Oct 1, 2007 at 12:55 AM EST |
| I watched a concert he did on TV done specially for TV in the BBC studios, in between songs were video clips of him talking about each song and what it's about etc. For this song it is indeed to do with the war he had to fight in, and "he" actually refers to the devil, which i guess suggests that Satan has visited all these places and left destruction in his wake. Beautiful song. | |
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Ben Average |
#17 by Ben Zero at Oct 2, 2007 at 12:58 AM EST |
| LizardKing, whilst I don't dispute your political facts and statements it is striking how if I was indeed a civilian living in certain areas of Iraq and I heard this song, I could well imagine seeing 'He' as George W Bush or his dear friend Tony. And I'm not some neo-socialist leftie; I'm in the British Army. | |
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Dear You, Tonig Average |
#18 by Dear You, Tonight Lets Get Ahead Of Ourselves at Oct 3, 2007 at 2:33 AM EST |
| this song is just amazing. he wrote it in koovo a short while after a "tussel". this song just captures my views on the subject so well. my interpretation is that the he is refering to all of the "evil2 people from foot soldiers to dictators. they tend to be men. so it just brings attention to that fact | |
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[ash] Wanna Be |
#19 by [ash] at Oct 3, 2007 at 3:19 AM EST |
| This song is about all war in general. 'He' could be death, the grim reaper, since he is personifying it. | |
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Matt Average |
#20 by Matt John at Oct 3, 2007 at 4:10 AM EST |
| i really like James Blunt and am an instant fan with his music has all the songs or touching and the listener can tell they are heart felt by himself i am of the opinion tht "He" refers to either war/destruction as others agree or that it refers to death Houses burnt beyond repair. The smell of death is in the air. A woman weeping in despair says, He has been here. death plays a dominent role in that little bit of song there which makes me beleive thats wot "he" refers to! | |
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XerXes Wanna Be |
#21 by XerXes Swanson at Oct 4, 2007 at 3:06 AM EST |
| A very powerful and dramatic song, indeed. The use of imagery is quite special. It really gives the listener a strong sense of the sadness and devastation that has been caused, upon so many differnt types of people. I almost think "he" could be an actual refernce to War, itself. Refering to it with a pronoun, giving it some sense of personification was a fantastic idea. It really adds depth and sense of something claiming responsibility for what has been done. | |
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The Four String Lead Player |
#22 by The Four String Mother Fucker at Oct 4, 2007 at 6:03 AM EST |
| To me, 'he' is George Bush and Blair. I know the song was written about Kosovo... but if you imagine the song was written in the context of the recent Iraq conflict then 'he' strikes me as a term for the leaders so often responsible for unnecessary violence. | |
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Timmibob Average |
#23 by Timmibob The Great at Oct 4, 2007 at 7:11 PM EST |
| i really like James Blunt and am an instant fan with his music has all the songs or touching and the listener can tell they are heart felt by himself i am of the opinion tht "He" refers to either war/destruction as others agree or that it refers to death Houses burnt beyond repair. The smell of death is in the air. A woman weeping in despair says, He has been here. death plays a dominent role in that little bit of song there which makes me beleive thats wot "he" refers to! | |
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I am who am Rhythm Player |
#24 by I am who am "SAF" at Oct 6, 2007 at 1:37 AM EST |
| definitely one of the most beautiful songs on the album and of 2005 to date! Who do you think the "HE" he keeps referring to is? could just be giving the war a persona but i think maybe theres more to it any ideas? | |
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Ben Average |
#25 by Ben Asay at Oct 6, 2007 at 9:31 AM EST |
| Great song!! From what you have all said so far I'm thinking 'he' is either war like keats1986 says or it could be 'the west' or western leaders who are insistent on going to war with everyone and don't seem to consider the effect it has on the locals etc. What do you think?? | |
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