Wilco › War On War Guitar Tab

Yankee Hotel Foxtrot Tabs:

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Send "War On War" Ringtone to your Cell Phone

Band - Wilco
Song - War On War

      A          E          Bm
e-----0----------0----------2-------|
B-----2----------0----------3-------|
G-----2----------1----------4-------|
D-----2----------2----------4-------|
A-----0----------2----------2-------|
E----------------0------------------|

A
Its a war on war, its a war on war
A
Its a war on war, its a war on war
A
Its a war on war, its a war on war
A
Its a war on war, theres a war on
E Bm
you're gonna lose, you have to lose
E A
you have to how to die.

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Send "War On War" Ringtone to your Cell Phone

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Tab Discussion, Comments, and Critiques


No Picture Matt Average	#1 by Matt at Feb 6, 1971 at 9:51 PM EST
	kimgarbow, awsome connection with the Myan myth. I would suggest the war is Life versus Death. Obviously death will ultimately win and you (or your Life) will lose. Then, the War on War would be coming to terms with your own eventually death and learning how to live your life in enjoyment of each moment. However the lines "You are not my typewriter / But you could be my demon moving forward through flaming doors" does throw me through a bit of a loop. They stand out as the only lines that aren't repeated and being the most cryptic. Perhaps the narrator doesn't want "you" to just stay with him, remind him of things, and take letters for him; however if "you" want to stick around when the war is over, he'll throw you through the gates of hell to save his own soul. Hmm... that sounds a bit more savage than I thought it would.

No Picture Jon Wanna Be	#2 by Jon Leff at May 4, 1971 at 1:56 AM EST
	Seems to me to be about letting go of idealism and trying to constantly fight losing battles with the masses of ignorant and selfish people, and instead just taking in life for what it is. Sort of a zen-like idea, the world is what you make of it, and what not.

No Picture GonnaKill Average	#3 by GonnaKill YOU at Aug 2, 1977 at 3:46 PM EST
	I always thought "You have to learn how to die if you wanna be alive" was sarcastic because he's trying to say that war doesn't help anybody.

No Picture Len Badass	#4 by Len cullum at Oct 6, 1979 at 11:22 AM EST
	I think this song perfectly represents the "war on terror". It's a war on war, nothing good ccan come out of it.

No Picture Dylan Average	#5 by Dylan Ruiz at Aug 14, 1983 at 4:29 PM EST
	I still have no idea what this one means, but it's so catchy :) The part about learning how to die in order to really live seems to be a recurring Wilco theme. Echoes Christianity, but I suspect Tweedy is referring to any number of transforming experiences in which a person completely submits to some overwhelming force and comes out a changed person. At any rate, I love the lyric, "You are not my typewriter/ but you could be my demon moving forward through flaming doors."

No Picture ALEX Lead Player	#6 by ALEX FOWLER at Mar 8, 1994 at 9:21 PM EST
	great song. is it just me, or does it sound a little french when he's singing "it's a war on war"? the r in the first "War" sounds very french to me (or maybe it's just cause i'm taking french . . . )

No Picture David Average	#7 by David Gilmour at Feb 17, 1995 at 7:45 PM EST
	Very sarcastic song. But then again, sadly, it's true...

No Picture Ŧøn¥ Average	#8 by Ŧøn¥ PiNeDa at Oct 15, 1998 at 10:34 PM EST
	does anyone else think the musical beginning of this songs is the best? I can't get over how much i like it.

No Picture jim Professional	#9 by jim d.f at May 7, 2002 at 10:59 AM EST
	The breakdown is great too Ryan.

No Picture bob Average	#10 by bob fred at Mar 16, 2003 at 12:00 PM EST
	What is war? It's a battle, a campaign, a fight against something. But it's also a metaphor for death, struggle, and pain. So a war on war is, in this context, I think, a fight against struggle, pain, and all the unpleasantries in life. It's the Prozac culture, in which everyone has some sort of unalienable right to be happy. But if you want to truly live, "you have to lose, you have to learn how to die if you wanna be alive." If you truly want to experience all the depth and complexity of life, you have to take your lumps, and lose your war on war. That doesn't mean you don't fight; you should always struggle to end your war, but when you lose, that's when you really live. This is a really cool song; I love it.

No Picture Jason Rhythm Player	#11 by Jason ...... at Aug 7, 2003 at 12:16 AM EST
	the musical intro on this song is great.... i personnally think that were right for being in the war rite now...... sure we cant get nething out of it but basically the same thing is going on over there than with the whole hitler thing. were just tryintg to help stop it. sorry not trying to get all politic-ie:) peace

No Picture Carly Average	#12 by Carly at Sep 7, 2003 at 3:21 AM EST
	this song reminds me of the Mayan origin myth, in which the playful founder-twins have to fight against the serious and warlike gods in a ballgame. the twins are fighting for their survival and for their fun way of life. in order to win, one of the twins must sacrifice himself (they use his head as a ball). in the end they win, and he comes back. the notion that its a war on war reminds me of balancing the seriousness of life and of course, death, with the joy that is possible if we learn to embrace death and enjoy life as much as possible. how can you be expected to really live, if you are constantly worried about the risk?

No Picture Kyle Average	#13 by Kyle at Jun 2, 2005 at 10:34 PM EST
	I've always thought the line "You gotta learn how to die/if you want to be alive" meant that you have to go through the rough times and brushes or experiences with death (not just near death experiences or something, but like the death of a close friend for example) to learn how important and special life is and can be if we live life to the fullest.

No Picture hey u by the th Average	#14 by hey u by the that thing. SHUTUP!! at Mar 27, 2007 at 6:46 AM EST
	Jeff Tweedy and the band wrote YHF before sept. 11, so apparantly "War On War" has no connection the War On Terrorism. Have a listen to the recording of them at The World Carfe. He mentions all this during the interview!! Anyway, I really have no clue what he's referring to in this song, with all that in mind...