The General Lyrics

Performed by Dispatch

"General"

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

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 the 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 the courage in
their blood and a fire in their stare
it was a gray 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
I have seen their mothers
and I will no other
to follow me where I'm going

So,take a shower, shine your shoes
you got no time to lose
you are young men you must be living

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

but the men stood fast with their
guns on their shoulders not knowing
what to do with the contradicting orders
the general said he would do his own
duty but would extend it no further
the men could go as they pleased

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]

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,
go!

go now you are forgiven
go now you are forgiven
go now you got to be got to be got to be here

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Thanks to James for submitting The General Lyrics.


all-time great | Reviewer: jon | 12/24/08

this song truely is amazing. i'm happy to see that new people are still getting into dispatch since they are so great. ps - that last comment - State Radio is Chad from Dispatch with a different bassist and drummer. they don't do as much acoustic stuff but they are still awesome. if you like this song check out Mr. Larkin by State Radio.

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amazing!! | Reviewer: Anonymous | 10/21/08

i LOVE this song!! i have just recently started to listen to dispatch & they are really amazing. i could not describe them any other way.. if you are obsessed with them just like me, then you should deff look up STATE RADIO. they are very similar and i love both of them!!

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Re-interpreted for child soldiers | Reviewer: Lo | 3/28/08

I have always loved this song, I remember listening to it a lot right before the US went into Iraq. Dispatch broke up before that even started, but they reunited recently to perform a benefit concert for Zimbabwe. Seeing them sing this song with a choir of African children had me crying like a little girl. I never interpreted it to be about child soldiers, but I've had friends who made that connection right away ("he grew a beard as soon as he could" implies that he's very young).

I have long considered the use of children in warfare to be the greatest evil in the modern world. The acts of the LRA in Uganda had me lying awake at night for months, meanwhile nobody in the media even covered what was happening there. There has only been a tiny bit of attention to this issue lately, and it's only focused on Sierra Leonne. To re-examine this song in this context has been very powerful for me. The lead singer of Dispatch went to Zimbabwe after high school, which explains a lot about who he is as a musician and a person. I've decided to go to Uganda next year to assist in the construction of a rehabilitation/family center for the many orphans (many of whom were forced to kill their own families!) in Uganda. There is no support offered them, and they just keep getting hit with floods and disasters disrupting the food supply, etc.

I'm getting off topic, but to cut it short, it makes me so glad when someone else cares about these things and manages to get their message out there. A song like this really resonates with people, but is upbeat and beautiful enough that you can listen to it over and over (like I'm doing right now, :)

I've seen the benefit concert on TV (in HD, on the hi-def music channel) and it's available on DVD. It's called Dispatch: Zimbabwe, and Netflix has it. I highly recommend checking it out and dare you not to cry watching it!

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<3 | Reviewer: Laura | 12/12/07

i first heard this song when i was at my fall rally during our vespers and i liked it but i was to deep into my thoughts to ask anyone the name then a couple of weeks ago i was at a friends party and she put it on and my mouth droped...THATS THE SONG!!
no i cant stop lisening to it

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Wow. | Reviewer: Aria | 11/28/07

I heard this song while on Pandora.com and I can't belive the feelings it makes me have. It's truly incredible. The first time I heard it, I thought the beat was cool but wasn't really listening to the words, untill I heard it again and had to make sure, I have now listened to it over a dozed times in the past.... 30 mins? =D
I really would like to hear more like this, because the feelings and emotions that come with it and really amazing.

If you have any that you know of, would you please e-mail me the name of the song. weshallhavedomination@yahoo.com That would be really nice.

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Beautiful | Reviewer: Dr_Afrothunder | 10/12/07

This song is amazing. I stumbled on it while surfing myspace, and it has since been favorite. It is sooo...beautiful, yet bittersweet. It reaches me deeply, because as a pacifist, I often get caught between doing my duty and what I feel. Just...amazing. ^_^

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Bajawesome!!!!!!!!! | Reviewer: Denis | 10/8/07

This song is so great I even had to make up a word for it its so good.....My word for it is bajawesome i love to listen to ever since my brother died in iraq. it always calms me down im just glad DIspatch made the song

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... | Reviewer: slykid444@yahoo.com | 8/21/07

This song is really good..kinda hard to listen to and not tear..half my family is/was in the war so yeah..but love this song has amazing meaning to it

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WW1 | Reviewer: David | 8/16/07

A friend of mine related this song to a story about a christmas day on WW1. To summarize the story, the English and Germans traded presents and played soccer on christmas day. Afterwards, they refused to fight. Gunshots weren't heard for two weeks, and then the men were re-deployed all up and down the lines. But at the end of those two weeks, the 3 Generals there were told that someone would have to fight, so they did. So everyone except for the 3 Generals were re-deployed, and the 3 Generals stood and fought. You can see that this might be what the song is about by the line "the general said he would do his own
duty but would extend it no further
the men could go as they pleased"

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YES! | Reviewer: jared | 8/14/07

this song rocks, i have known a few great bands coming from flint michigan, this one disbanded but they played it in highschool and rocked this song. another great band coming up right now from here is called fearblind. check them out!!! theyre coming mainly from the machine shop here in flint michigan, but theyll be big soon so help them out they rock!

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