56. The General by Dispatch

"The General" by Dispatch

Lyrics by Chad Urmston
Music by Dispatch (Brad Corrigan, Pete Francis Heimbold, Chad Urmston)
Released on Bang Bang (September 1, 1997)
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This is one of those bands that I can say I knew about before they were cool. (Not that I would say that because that would make me sound pretentious and uncool). One summer during college, my friend Don came to camp with a CD by a band who he had seen up at Middlebury. It was a fine CD for summer camp, no curse words, acoustic arrangements, and a general vibe that no one could really complain about. "Bats in the Belfry" got stuck in my head a bit, but I've had worse songs stuck there.

When I asked about the band, he explained that even though they were called One Fell Swoop on his CD, they had changed their name to Dispatch after they signed to a record deal. For some reason after that summer, the only thing that stuck in my head was One Fell Swoop. For the longest time I could not remember their new name.

I saw the band Guster on a late night show, and although they had a similar set up, I knew it wasn't the same band. I checked just in case, but the internet was not nearly as useful at that time, so I wasn't 100% sure that they hadn't changed their name again.

I had another run in with Dispatch's music after college when I worked at a camp up in Michigan. We used to go to Whisker's Pub to hear Andre Villoch (who has a song further up this list) play. He was a once and future camp counselor, and he played a mean guitar, wrote great songs, and could sing (among many other talents). One of the cover songs in his repertoire was "Out Loud" by Dispatch. Apparently one of his musician friends used to shout "Andre!" when he would get to the chorus. I asked him once if he had ever tried to learn "The General." He admitted that he could never quite get the quick rhythms of the verses down. It's possible he didn't want to play it because its antiwar lyrics might be perceived as a political statement.

This is one of my favorite antiwar songs and not the last antiwar song in my top 100. For most of my life I have been more dove than hawk. While it could be argued that certain wars in the past were justified, it's also clear that too many humans have been killed by other humans. Great leaders like Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. have demonstrated that non-violent protest can be an effective way to usher in revolution and change.

When I was younger, I used to think that the scariest thing about going to war would be the thought of killing another human. I now have come to terms with how naive I once was. While I have never been sure about whether I could actually take another person's life, even in self-defense, I am very sure that I do not want to lose my own. I now believe that, even when I was younger, if I were to ever be thrust into a warlike situation, I would almost certainly end up crying, hiding in a corner with soiled underwear. Maybe an esprit de corps (or a shot of adrenaline from a simple a fear of letting down those around me) would save me from that embarrassment, but I really can't know for sure. I'm just grateful that all this has remained hypothetical for me.

What I am certain of is that we still have over 8,000 US troops in Afghanistan, fighting a war that has lasted for nearly 20 years; a war that has killed over 2,000 American servicemen, wounded many others, and left still more with lasting physical and psychological scars; a war that has killed over 110,000 Afghans; a war that has cost the United States at least $1.5 trillion; a war that needs to end.

My hope is that all men and women fighting anywhere in the world can someday soon follow the final orders of the general to:

Take a shower. Shine your shoes.

You got no time to lose.

You are young men. You must be living.

Go now you are forgiven.

Right now "The General" by Dispatch is my 56th favorite song of all time.