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Beautiful, Rebecca
Yes, I’m sure plenty of us went to fight, seeking either a sense of self-worth, or else release.
Your story echoes the song of the same name, the ballad of young Willie McBride. Someday I will find my way to those green fields, to bear witness to the generation that was crushed in that horrible conflict.
— Emma
That song
Is actually called 'No Man's Land' and was written by the lovely Eric Bogle, a Scot who emigrated to Australia. I quote it a couple of times in my cycling book, as, when we met, Eric simply asked for a copy of what context I would be using his words in, and then sent me an e-mail saying "Absolutely fine, mate".
The song was renamed and altered by some Irish musicians. Eric's take on that was "I'm a Scot, so obviously I simply copyrighted both titles"
The alteration I find worst was in the chorus. Eric's take is about senseless slaughter, "A whole generation who were butchered and damned", and his couplet runs "I hope you died quick, and I hope you died clean, or, Willy McBride, was it slow, and obscene"
The change was to "I hope you died well etc", and that is a profoundly different sentiment. It smacks of a brave soldier, jaw jutting [add jingoism to taste]. Eric sang of a poor, butchered manchild. Very, very different.
The sentiment is expressed in the lines about a just cause:
And I can't help but wonder now Willie McBride
Do all those who lie here know why they died?
Did you really believe them when they told you the cause?
Did you really believe them that this war would end war?
But the suffering, the sorrow, the glory, the shame -
The killing, the dying - it was all done in vain
For Willie McBride, it's all happened again
And again, and again, and again, and again
Family History.
CPL. William A. Bell would have grown up hearing first hand accounts of battle from both his two uncles. Both who had fought for the south in the American Civil War. And from hearing stories of valor from his father who fought in the Spanish American War. These stories would have droven him to enlist. While may never flesh this character out, I think accounts that have come down from the generations paint him as a shy, bookish young man who was a weaklying and better suited for the priesthood that the field of battle. Thank you for the lovely comment Emma.
Factory Reset — A new word picture
That is a new word picture for me, but I really like it and appreciate it a lot. That sentiment really resonates with how I have felt most of my life. Even through all my depressions, feelings of worthlessness, questioning my purpose in life, and wondering if it is even worth to continue living, the sanctity of life is still rooted so deeply in myself that the thought of suicide makes me sick.
I want to leave you all with a quote that I found many years ago here on BigCloset, and that I printed with a huge font size and pinned up over my desk for many years.
Daisy had hoped.
Daisy had hoped for a "Factor Reset" twice in her series of stories. The first time was in "Saved by the Bell" and the second time was in "Daisy Red Badge of Courage". Raised in the high traditions of the Episcopal Church, she knew suicide was a sin, and refused to take her own life. But figured if she got pounded into hamber meat then well she could her reset and maybe leave the world a better place than she found it. Thank you for the lovely and thoughtful comment Jessica!
Black Watch
My grandfather was in the Black Watch Scottish regiment which fought in the Battle of the Somme with heavy casualties. Fortunately for my existence he had a cleft palate and had difficulty speaking. His rank was lieutenant and the powers that be decided his speech impediment made him unfit for front line service. He spent the war commanding a squad that defending the Forth Bridge near Edinburgh in Scotland. If not for his speech impediment I might not exist. The song always brings me close to tears.
Favourite song that
The again and again and again and again tells me that the name of the story is taken from the song. Good job, I really liked it.
Your Talent Has Emerged
This story is markedly different from your usual Down South offerings (which are great in their own right) and shows that you have the soul of a superb author in other fields.
This is a heart-felt eulogy to a young man who gave his life to false gods and maybe because his soul was like yours and he felt the need to prove himself to be "a Real Man" when he wasn't. In a way I hope he was like you, Rebecca, although I never want you to make the sacrifice that he made. You are much more valuable to those of us on this site.
You have written here a story which makes your soul shine.
Once.
Once when I was writing or working on the "Vicksburg Saga" I wrote a sory about a young man who came from the upper-middle class of Southern High Society, I knew at outbreak of the First World War several groups of young men, mostly from the old Planter Class traveled north to enlist. I used that as a bases of a story. Then one cold, rainy afternoon, the idea of Daisy peering up at that photo came to mind. Not only that, but the idea of Daisy discovering several hidden letters.Lettered that hinted that he was indeed deep in the closet and hiding. Letters that hinted that truth had tormented him. This young man, having grown up listining to stories from his grandfather of the glories of War. As his grandfather had fought in the American Civil War and his father who had fought in the Spanish American war, might have seen the conflict in europe as a way to prove to himself and his family that he was indeed a real man, or in the least since Vicksburg had cast him a poet, that he would the one who would die and his life offered on his countries alter. Thank you Joanne for the lovely comment!