"Hero of War" is a 2008 song by Rise Against from the album '' Appeal to Reason''. The song was mistaken to be the album's third single, after a music video of the song was released on the band's Myspace on May 20, 2009. However, it was later revealed it was just a promotional video and "

Savior Savior or Saviour may refer to: *A person who helps people achieve salvation, or saves them from something Religion * Mahdi, the prophesied redeemer of Islam who will rule for seven, nine or nineteen years * Maitreya * Messiah, a saviour or l ...

" is in fact, the third single.

Recording

Lead vocalist

Tim McIlrath Timothy James McIlrath (born November 3, 1978) is an American rock musician. He is the lead singer, rhythm guitarist, songwriter and co-founder of the punk rock band Rise Against. He is vegan and straight edge. Early and personal life McIlr ...

wrote the music and lyrics for "Hero of War" during the recording sessions of Rise Against's fifth album '' Appeal to Reason''. Toward the completion of ''Appeal to Reason'', McIlrath thought to include an acoustic song he had written earlier in the sessions, but was not sure if it would fit with the rest of the hardcore music on the album. He told producer Bill Stevenson about a possible acoustic song he had written from the perspective of a war veteran. By coincidence, Stevenson had just thought about writing an anti-war song, and after listening to the acoustic song, he convinced McIlrath to include it on the album.

Song meaning

The song starts out with an army recruiter asking the protagonist, a potential recruit, to enlist. With promises of adventure and money, he does indeed sign up. At the end of the song, the protagonist, now a veteran, recalls with bitter irony the army recruiter's promise that signing up would mean he could "see the world". The protagonist sees how destructive wars are, including the destruction of his own moral scruples, as the protagonist is convinced, after initially protesting, to join in and participate in the torture of a prisoner. The soldier repeatedly declares his loyalty and trust in his country's flag, but after killing a woman who he later learns was carrying a

white flag White flags have had different meanings throughout history and depending on the locale. Contemporary use The white flag is an internationally recognized protective sign of truce or ceasefire, and for negotiation. It is also used to symbolize ...

, he changes his mind about his former flag-waving patriotism, instead putting his trust now in the white flag. Near the end, the veteran reacts with revulsion to those who see him as "A hero of war, is that what they see? Just medals and scars, so damn proud of me." Tim says he was expressing sarcasm because many people treat soldiers like heroes, even though many don't feel like heroes.

wrote this song due to the violence in the war, but also for the troops that serve overseas protecting their respective countries.

Music video

A music video was made for the song, although it wasn't released as a single from the album, and thus the song was mistaken to be the album's third single. The music video was released on May 20, 2009, on the band's Myspace page. The video fades between lead singer

sitting and singing the song while playing the acoustic guitar, and shots of soldiers in war. Along these are clips of a visibly distressed soldier. The video ends with the soldier walking down a street, bare-chested, with paint on his face, while sirens go off in the background, implying he had descended into violence due to

PTSD Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental and behavioral disorder that can develop because of exposure to a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, warfare, traffic collisions, child abuse, domestic violence, or other threats on ...

while in normal society.

Personnel

– lead vocals, Acoustic guitar

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hero Of War Rise Against songs 2008 songs Anti-war songs Songs about the military Songs about soldiers Songs written by Tim McIlrath Songs written by Zach Blair Songs written by Joe Principe Songs written by Brandon Barnes