Us and Them

So I was listening to one of my favorite albums the other day (Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd), and something struck me as being relatable to Slaughterhouse-5: the song called Us and Them. I think it's a very nice song. It's not meant to be crazeh make-your-head-spin progressive/psychedelic RAWK like some other songs on this artful album. I believe it's a softer and sweeter song. The lyrics are as follows:

Us, and them
And after all were only ordinary men.
Me, and you.
God only knows it's not what we would choose to do.

Forward he cried from the rear
And the front rank died.
And the general sat and the lines on the map
Moved from side to side.

Black and blue
And who knows which is which and who is who.
Up and down.
But in the end it's only round and round.

Haven't you heard it's a battle of words
The poster bearer cried.
Listen son, said the man with the gun
There's room for you inside.

I mean, they're not gunna kill ya, so if you give em a quick short,
Sharp, shock, they wont do it again. dig it? I mean he get off
Lightly, cos I wouldve given him a thrashing - I only hit him once!
It was only a difference of opinion, but really...i mean good manners
Don't cost nothing do they, eh?

Down and out
It can't be helped but there's a lot of it about.
With, without.
And wholl deny it's what the fightings all about?

Out of the way, it's a busy day
Ive got things on my mind.
For the want of the price of tea and a slice
The old man died.

Here's a link for anyone who chooses to listen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6qnMB7pOKA

I recall talking in class about the Germans' sympathy towards the Americans after the bombing, and that's really what this reminds me of. The first and second lines about the (assumed) opponents being just regular men, I like that. American or German, they're ordinary men. I see a connection in the third and fourth lines as well. Regarding Slaughterhouse-5, those lyrics could say something like 'Yeah, there's a war, but we don't necessarily hate our opponents as individuals and we don't necessarily want to hurt them, we're just doing what we're told in order to keep our country safe'.

The fifth to eighth lines, starting with 'forward he cried' has everything to do with the physical battles of WWII in my opinion.

Black and blue / And who knows which is which and who is who. / Up and down. / But in the end it's only round and round. If I connect them to Slaughterhouse-5, these particular lyrics can relate to the chaos Billy had to endure on the battlefield. 'Black and blue' can refer to injuries, and the following line can refer to picking up the bodies after a massacre. The two lines after, starting with 'Up...' and 'But...' can definitely refer to the sheer confusion and fear that soldiers and civillians alike were experiencing in WWII.

Haven't you heard it's a battle of words / The poster bearer cried. I like this line. In relation to Slaughterhouse-5, this could represent the fact that so many lives could have been spared if world leaders could have just played nice in the sandbox like little kids instead of shooting and bombing millions of the enemy country's citizens. War is political (ew).

Listen son, said the man with the gun / There's room for you inside. This is a nice line too. It kinda reminds me of those German folks who took care of the Americans after Dresden was transformed into 'Oz'. Those Germans probably didn't have guns, but they were technically the enemy of the Americans. They did something so nice and allowed the enemy to stay with them. LOVE IT!

The next segment of the song, starting with "I mean, it's not gonna kill ya", is spoken by a roadie. He could be blabbering on about anything, but while we're on the topic of Slaughterhouse-5, it could definitely pass as a war story for obvious reasons. Maybe like something that creepy Lazarro fella would say.

The next section is a difficult one for me to relate directly to Slaughterhouse-5 to be honest, but it is clearly about war and its goals.

The last verse, particularly the one about the price of tea and a slice, really speaks to me about the awful conditions and food rations faced by people like Billy, Vonnie, and the fater of the song's bassist and co-writer, THE Roger Waters.

This may sound like some crazy weird conjecture, but hey, I try. A possible connection between a book and a real song must be REALLY awesome for me to notice it! ^__^