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The General by Dispatch
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Dispatch’s best-known song is the story of a celebrated general coming to realize the futility of war. He absolves the young men in his charge to go about their lives. “Take a shower, shine your shoes, you got no time to lose / You are young and you must be living / Go now, you are forgiven.”
The General Lyrics
[Verse 1]
There was a decorated general with a heart of gold
That likened him to all the stories he told
Of past battles won and lost, and legends of old
A seasoned veteran in his own time
On the battlefield, he gained respectful fame
With many medals of bravery and stripes to his name
He grew a beard as soon as he could to cover the scars on his face
And always urged his men on
[Verse 2]
But on the eve of a great battle with the infantry in dream
The old general tossed in his sleep and wrestled with its meaning
He awoke from that night to tell what he had seen
And walked slowly out of his tent
All the men held tall with their chests in the air
With courage in their blood and a fire in their stare
And it was a grey morning and they all wondered how they would fare
Till the old general told them to go home
[Chorus]
He said, "I have seen the others, and I have discovered
That this fight is not worth fighting
And I've seen their mothers
And I will no other
To follow me where I'm going
So take your shower, shine your shoes, you got no time to lose
You are young and you must be living
So take your shower, shine your shoes, you got no time to lose
You are young and you must be living
Go now, you are forgiven"
[Post-Chorus]
Yeah
[Verse 3]
But the men stood fast with their guns on their shoulders
Not knowing what to do with their contradicting orders
The general said he would do his own duty but he would extend it no further
The men could go as they pleased
But not a man moved, their eyes gazed straight ahead
Till one by one they stepped back, and not a word was said
And the old general was left with his own words echoing in his head
He then prepared to fight
[Chorus]
He said, "I have seen the others, and I have discovered
That this fight is not worth fighting
And I've seen their mothers
And I will no other
To follow me where I'm going
[Outro]
Go now, you are forgiven
Go now, you are forgiven
Go now, you are forgiven
Go
Go now, you are forgiven
Go now, you are forgiven
Go now, you are forgiven
Yeah-ee-yeah!
Go now, you are forgiven
Go now, you are forgiven
Go now, you got to be, got to be, got to be
Hay-ay-ee-yay"
The General Q&A
Who wrote The General's ?
The General was written by Chadwick Stokes & Pete Heimbold & Brad Corrigan.
When did Dispatch release The General?
Dispatch released The General on Mon Sep 01 1997.
What did Dispatch say about "The General"?
According to The Best of Dispatch, Chad Urmston describes “The General”:
This is our anti-war song. Although it was primarily based on The Civil War, the message was not confined to that particular conflict. The song tells about General Robert E. Lee telling his Confederate army to basically go hom...