Bastards Of Young- War?

[kgp]

Ok, I'll try my hand at one of these. I've always heard this line as "Got no war to name us", as in a generation not defined by the war it fought, but some tell me it's "got no word to name us". Heard the song a few weeks ago and now all I hear is "word". (of course I'm hearing bacon in "I Will Dare", now where I never had before, but that'a another topic)

[A Regular]

I thought it was war too, makes more sense to me, but war, followed by the hard T sound does make "word", or is that wart ?

By the way, I also think its fingernails, unless you want it to be bacon, and then it DOES sound like bacon.

[Placemat]

I always heard it as war & I believe on the album cut it is war. However, Paul seems to change the line a lot. I've heard live version W/word & right subbed.

[torethatbridgeout]

we got no more Joe Namath

[A Regular]

Well, Suzy Kolber got a lot more Joe Namath than she wanted...

[Lee]

i always thought it was "got no war to maim us"

probably wrong, but that's how i sing it...

[scooch]

I've always understood the lyric to be "you got no word to name us" and that it is a refernce to generation X, i.e. the generation with no label, no name.

[ClamsCasino]

scooch said:

I've always understood the lyric to be "you got no word to name us" and that it is a refernce to generation X, i.e. the generation with no label, no name.

Bingo. We have a winner.

[zook]

Good question. I always heard it as war but word fits pretty good as well. The Gen X thing makes sense. However, "got no war to name us" to me was a reference to how his dad fought in a war (WW2 I assume), his grandfather's generation had WW1 and the generation after WW2 had Vietnam. I imagine Paul hearing so much about fighting for your country, growing up during a war, having pride in your country, etc... and being tired of generations being judged on the wars they wage. I like to hear it as a sarcastic shot at the "when I was your age I had to" elders.

[A Regular]

In zooks take on it, there is also a bit of irony, almost complaining that there was no war...no badge to put on that generation's chest. Like that is something to aspire to?

I kinda like that twisted view.

[torethatbridgeout]

A_Regular said:

In zooks take on it, there is also a bit of irony, almost complaining that there was no war...no badge to put on that generation's chest. Like that is something to aspire to?

I kinda like that twisted view.

Yeah, I always heard war and liked it for the same reason.

[A Regular]

Well bridge, who wants to be the one to write Mr Westerberg and let him know that tune might work on a different, and maybe better level if he clearly says war from now on.

If he can switch bacon for fingernails after the fact as its been suggested, surely he can sneak in a minor change like word/war....

[scooch]

I think the key to the word/war debate lies in the previous line: "unwillingness to claim us." He's clearly referring to a specific group of people so this also suggests generation x to me. Or, in those days I think the term "blank generation" was quite popular. Blank Generation parallels "no word to name us" pretty well.

[A Regular]

Probably right regarding no one to claim us, but I still want to think that could refer to a draft board, something that existed for other generations.

[claypigeon]

I always interpreted it much more simply. I heard it as "got no one to name us" as in "we are the sons of no one, therefore we got no one to name us." But I like these other interpretations better. Especially the Joe Namath line--very Paul Simonesque.

[thedroid]

I thought it was "war," but then in the lyric sheet at the R&R HoF it's "you got no warrent (sic) to name us," which makes sense for a kid speaking to adults and used to getting harassed by the law.

[thedroid]

Yep, I just got the Rhino reissue, and I hear him say what sounds, phonetically, like "Got no warren to name us," because the two t's -- one at the end of "warrant" and one at the start of "to" -- merge into one.

That last chant also sounds more like "Make it yours" to me with the remastering.

[4x8]

How about - you snot nosed world who tame us?

[holeinthedrapes]

This is interesting. I have always heard it as "got no ward to name us", as in a ward of the state or a ward of the court. I think it goes along with the idea of nobody wanting them. No one will claim them, nobody cares enough about them to even give them to somebody else.