General Lockjaw Briefs the Troops as Reported by a Sceptical Soldier
This song was inspired by "La Mauvaise Reputation", in which George Brassens sings of his being different to the people around him, and includes a recurring quip in lines such as, "Everyone points a finger at me" - "Except those with no hands - that goes without saying." Leon incorporates the joke into a much more serious song about the Iraq war, turning it into a bitter truth.
In this song, General Lockjaw is back (last seen briefing the British Media in 1991). Here, he is spinning the familiar web of lies and propaganda, informing the military that their mission is liberation and that the Iraqi women will welcome them with flowers. (The sceptical soldier adds: Except for the ones whose arms have been blown off - that goes without saying.)
In this song, General Lockjaw is back (last seen briefing the British Media in 1991). Here, he is spinning the familiar web of lies and propaganda, informing the military that their mission is liberation and that the Iraqi women will welcome them with flowers. (The sceptical soldier adds: Except for the ones whose arms have been blown off - that goes without saying.)
“I don’t believe any song could adequately express the horror of this criminal [Iraq] war. Hundreds of thousands of Iraqi dead, four million refugees, countless numbers tortured and maimed, the country’s infrastructure ravaged - how to write a song about that? The two I wrote were small-scale: “Monsters”, which came at it from an oblique angle; and this one, which saw General Lockjaw, that fine upstanding military man, recalled to do his duty once again. Brassens’ song ‘La Mauvaise Reputation’ provided the basic idea.” - LR (sleevenotes to The World Turned Upside Down (CD box set), p61)
Recordings
Version 1 (2004)
- Turning Silence Into Song
- Not in our Name (CD) Various artists album opposing the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
- The World Turned Upside Down
- Chronicling The Times