No Bravery

by James Blunt

1. There are children standing here,
Arms outstretched into the sky,
Tears drying on their face.
He has been here.
2. Brothers lie in shallow graves.
Fathers lost without a trace.
A nation blind to their disgrace,
Since he's been here.

CHORUS:
And I see no bravery,
No bravery in your eyes anymore.
Only sadness.

3. Houses burnt beyond repair.
The smell of death is in the air.
A woman weeping in despair says,
He has been here.
4. Tracer lighting up the sky.
It's another families' turn to die.
A child afraid to even cry out says,
He has been here.

CHORUS:
And I see no bravery,
No bravery in your eyes anymore.
Only sadness.

5. There are children standing here,
Arms outstretched into the sky,
But no one asks the question why,
He has been here.
6. Old men kneel and accept their fate.
Wives and daughters cut and raped.
A generation drenched in hate.
Yes, he has been here.

CHORUS:
And I see no bravery,
No bravery in your eyes anymore.
Only sadness.

Vocabulary Aids

Kein Heldentum

von James Blunt

Deutsche Übersetzung © von Volker Pöhls

1. Kinder stehen da
recken die Arme in die Luft,
Tränen trocknen auf ihrem Gesicht.
Er ist dagewesen.

2. Brüder liegen in flachen Gräbern.
Väter sind spurlos verschwunden.
Eine Nation sieht nicht, wie sie ihre Würde verliert,
seit er dagewesen ist.

REFRAIN:
Und ich sehe keine Tapferkeit,
keine Tapferkeit mehr in deinen Augen.
Nur noch Traurigkeit.

3. Häuser irreparabel verbrannt.
Der Geruch des Todes liegt in der Luft.
Eine Frau weint verzweifelt und sagt:
Er ist dagewesen.

4. Spurmunition erleuchtet den Himmel.
Jetzt ist eine andere Familie dran zu sterben.
Ein Kind, das sogar Angst vorm Weinen hat, sagt:
Er ist dagewesen.

5. Kinder stehen da
recken die Arme in die Luft,
aber niemand stellt die Frage,
warum er dagewesen ist.

6. Alte Männer knien und nehmen ihr Schicksal einfach hin.
Frauen und Töchter verletzt und vergewaltigt.
Eine Generation in Hass ertränkt.
Ja, er ist dagewesen.

Talking Points

1. Find out everything about James Blunt's experiences concerning war!
2. Does the song deal with one special war?
3. At the end of each of the six stanzas, one phrase is repeated. What is meant by "He has been here"?
   Does it refer to
   1. the devil
   2. the singer
   3. war
   4. a politician
   5. somebody else?
4. Title and chorus deal with bravery. In which respect is war associated / not associated with bravery?
5. In an interview Blunt said:
   
   We saw some things that were truly revolting, and it was extremely distressing that civilization can break down in just the snap of a finger. It was really like Lord of the Flies.
   What was he referring to?
6. In an interview Blunt said:
   
   The song is pretty fatalistic.
   What did he mean? What could he have written instead?
7. Answer to the accusation that the lyrics are full of cliches!
8. Compare the song to other war / anti-war songs! Which is your favourite one? Why?
9. Do you think that wars are necessary / the Kosovo-war was necessary?