Peacekeeper - What Do We Think?

[John]

Some very interesting interpretations here, I love reading everyone's thoughts. I've only heard the first minute or so of the song (I have a SUPER SLOW dial up connection and it cut out part way through the download) but like what I hear and the the lyrics as well. If this is an indication of what the album may sound like then I'm really impressed and can't wait to hear the rest of it.

[Les]

Originally posted by CarneVaca
Having said all that, I think Johnny's interpretation works too. But I am going to opt for the political interpretation.

That's kind of where I am too. I'm a bit in between. I really like your interp, Johnny, and I think it really does work well. The political aspect seems likely to me too though because of a couple of the specific lines Carne mentioned. Either way, it makes for an interesting song!

[DownOnRodeo]

lol Johhny you covered everything except 'Peacekeeper'! That's to me what makes it more about Peace/War than the usual broken hearts club anthem.

PEACEKEEPER... dont be afraid to fight, love is the sweet surprise.

'Peacekeeper' doesn't imply 'loveseeker' to me at all - cause love is certainly not peace, at least not in the, as you said, cynical framework this song is presented in. No, I think 'Peacekeeper' and the whole 'War for Peace' is a whole new concept. But if you disregard those interpretations of 'peacekeeper', then the rest of the lyrics follow your 'lovelost' interpretation.

[Johnny Stew]

I actually purposely avoided touching upon the references to a "peacekeeper," because I was worried that Stevie's comment about being the peacekeeper within Fleetwood Mac, might cloud the interpretation.

It's an interesting thought though... what if Lindsey IS singing this song to Stevie?
I mean, I hate to go there... after all, I'm definitely not one of the people who think every one of Stevie's songs is written about Lindsey, and vice verse.... but, what if?

In recent years, Stevie has said in many interviews that a romantic relationship just isn't a priority for her. That she feels unable to adequately balance a romance, with her career. So she'd rather just live at home, with her friends around her.

So if Stevie is the "peacekeeper" (and the walrus is Paul ), then Lindsey might be speaking directly to her. Telling her not to give up on love, but to keep fighting the good fight, because the prize... love... is worth it all.
"Peacekeeper, dont be afraid to fight... love is the sweet surprise."

Beyond that... in a more universal way... the "peacekeeper" could be anyone who tries to make a relationship work. Sometimes sacrificing who they are in the process.
But even those people eventually stop to ask themselves if it's all worth it. Are they giving too much, for something that may never work out?
To me, Lindsey is saying that the end justifies the means.

By the way, I didn't mean to imply that I thought the song was at all cynical... in fact, overall, it's probably one of Lindsey's most hopeful songs.
But that one line, "take no prisoners, only kill," is rather dark.
To me, it comes back to what I said earlier... Lindsey's basically saying to go out there, and do what you have to do, to make love work. (ie: "In order to make an omelet, you have to break some eggs.")

Love isn't pretty, and people get hurt... but if something in this life is really worth having, then it's worth making some sacrifices for.

Just watch though... in three month's time, Lindsey's going to be discussing this song in some magazine article, and he'll say, "Oh, I was watching CNN late one night in my studio, as I was trying to alter the sound of my harp, using my VSO. I heard Dick Cheney call Colin Powell a 'peacekeeper,' and inspiration struck!"
Thereby completely discrediting my theory!



Johnny Stew

[myndpeace]

I haven't posted here in a while, but now that there's new songs to talk about, I guess I'm gonna be spending more time here...

Musically, I think Thrown Down is better (the production is absoultely perfect, imo), but Peacekeeper has better lyrics. In the past, I've always felt that Lindsey's lyrics were rather simple and unintriguing (but most often more than made up for by a searing guitar solo). This is the first time that I've personally preferred Lindsey lyrics over Stevie lyrics.

Anyways, here's my interpretation. I think this song is about war and American international policy. In the first verse, "suns" are a metaphor for nuclear weapons. They are all the same, and they will all explode in a horrible war. "Suns" also suggests the homonym "sons," representing America's sons going off to fight and die in war. And of course once we start something, we have to finish it, even if its a losing proposition (think Vietnam).

For the chorus... "Peacekeeper" represents American foreign policy and how America has a military presence in nearly every part of the world claiming to be on a "peacekeeping" mission, whereas in reality our presence is in no small way intended to increase our global domination. Thus it is used here in an ironic sarcastic meaning. "Wait for the dark of night / Soon all our suns will rise..." Again using the metaphor of suns for nukes, rising suns is the launching of nuclear weapons. Furthermore, mushroom clouds have been described to look like a rising sun. "Peacekeeper don't tell why/ Don't be afraid to fight"... Since the Gulf War, American policy has frequently been to strike first and explain later.

"Only creatures who are on their way/ Ever poison their own well/ But we still have time to hate/ And there's still something we can sell"... War brings necessary death and destruction, and using nukes is essentially suicide, so only a decadant, dying imperial power would do such a thing. As Carne et al suggested, the last two lines of this verse tell of the use of war to further our economic interests.

The chorus again, and then I think a guitar solo would fit well here...

The next verse... night=destruction/confusion, or more cynically, nuclear winter. "This is not a test, it's not a drill," as in Dan Rather reporting from the CBS basement, "This is not a test. Please calmly and orderly go to your nearest fallout shelter"

"You know all of our friends are gods..." This reminds me of the Bob Dylan song "With God On Our Side," another disturbingly cynical song.

"Take no prisoners only kill" is arguably the most cryptic line in the song, and on the most basic level simply represents the atrocities of war. On another level, though, it suggests to me that there is no middle ground and that we may already have stepped over the edge into the abyss.

Sure, my interpretation is so farfetched that it's most likely wrong, or else Lindsey has much more foresight than I'm giving him credit for. But it wouldn't surprise me if Lindsey intended it to be political, seeing as the lyrics from his other political songs, as well as his participation on GLAAD and ACLU projects, shows he's quite liberal. Anyway, I'd love to here more songs of this nature by Lindsey.

***myndpeace***

[CarneVaca]

Myndpeace, you posted the interpretation that I was too lazy to write. And besides, you did a better job than I would.

And you made two great points:

--The presence of the song in an ACLU-related CD

--The Bob Dylan reference, which I hadn't even thought about. We know that Lindsey is a Dylan fan, and that he was listening to Dylan songs in recent times. So it's quite possible the Dylan stuff influenced him for this song.

Johnny Stew, I think we must be careful not to try to relate all lyrics to what has happened between Lindsey and Stevie. I suspect he stopped writing about her long ago. After all, the man has had other relationships and now has a wife and kids. I think it's time to face reality.

Just because Stevie claimed herself to be a peacekeeper -- which by the way I interpreted as yet another one of those fantasy-land statements she made because I don't believe for a second she is a peacekeeper -- it doesn't mean Lindsey went out and wrote a song about her being a peacekeeper. I mean, if she says she went "nuclear" one day over something and then we uncover a Lindsey song about nuclear war, are we going to interpret it as Lindsey writing about Stevie again?

I think you got a little carried away, Johnny. Of course, watch Lindsey give an interview and mention that this song has nothing to do with politics. Then I'll have to eat crow. But somehow I can't imagine this song being about anything but politics.

Peace, all.

[Amy Y]

Meh.

I'd like to hear the rest of the band's contributions. I prefer Murrow or Red Rover over Peacekeeper. Don't get me wrong, it's not bad. I certainly like it better than Thrown Down (which is also not bad, either). I just find Peacekeeper lacks something. Lindsey sort of sounds bored singing it, which would be okay if he had some seizing guitar work to make up for it. Peacekeeper reminds me of This Weight On Me by Chris de Burgh (which I love), exept without the vocal dramatic tension.

[Johnny Stew]

Originally posted by CarneVaca
Just because Stevie claimed herself to be a peacekeeper -- which by the way I interpreted as yet another one of those fantasy-land statements she made because I don't believe for a second she is a peacekeeper.

Ouch... no love for the brownie/blond-haired girl, I see. *lol*
Better be careful, Carne, or people might start accusing you of misogynism! (that was just a joke, by the way.)

Originally posted by CarneVaca
Johnny Stew, I think we must be careful not to try to relate all lyrics to what has happened between Lindsey and Stevie. I suspect he stopped writing about her long ago.
I think it's time to face reality.

D'Oh! See, I knew if I mentioned Stevie's name within my interpretation, the whole thing would be dismissed as fluff.

I'm not saying that it *is* written about her, or that I even *think* it is... I'm just saying that it's one possible theory. One of those "what ifs."
I even tried to make the whole "Stevie is the Peacekeeper" thing a bit tongue-in-cheek, with the Beatles/"the walrus is Paul" reference.

Anyway, I still strongly feel that the "peacekeeper" in the song, is someone who has given a lot of themselves, to make a relationship work out. Now they're battle-fatigued, and on the brink of giving up... so, within his lyrics, Lindsey's telling them to keep their eyes on the prize.

But then, hey, this is the best example of a great song... that we can all have such vastly different opinions on its meaning, and yet still enjoy it to such a degree.
He seems to be giving almost as much attention to his lyrics now, as he always has to the music behind them... which is something I don't think can necessarily be said for some of Lindsey's earlier work, and is definitely something I'm really loving about his new songs.
For me, the lyrics are the meat and potatoes of a song, and everything else is just gravy... so I'm very happy with this turn of events.



Johnny Stew

[CarneVaca]

Originally posted by Johnny Stew
Ouch... no love for the brownie/blond-haired girl, I see. *lol*
Better be careful, Carne, or people might start accusing you of misogynism! (that was just a joke, by the way.)

Ah, but how wrong that would be. I love women. I just don't love Stevie...

[Johnny Stew]

Originally posted by CarneVaca
I just don't love Stevie...

Now see, I never would have guessed that.



Johnny Stew

[stefan]

Originally posted by Amy Y
Meh.

Peacekeeper reminds me of This Weight On Me by Chris de Burgh (which I love), exept without the vocal dramatic tension.

Oh no please! The last thing possible is a comparison between Chris de Burgh and LB. Don`t do that to us :

[DownOnRodeo]

Hmm, Myndpeace a very well thought out post. And definitely a convincing argument for the song's theme being interpretably related at least 60/40 to War.

But you failed to remark on the line 'love is the sweet surprise' which doesn't fit with the rest of your interpretation, just as 'peacekeeper' didnt fit with Johnny's (Haha, JohnnyStew, that 'Stevie mentioned she was a peacekeeper' rationale? You don't seriously think that is likely relevant?lol)

So I'm just running with my same old theory about how the theme is about 'War for Peace', as this explains all the lyrics.

UNLESS Myndpeace and Johnny can come with some credible explanations for those respective lines!! OR as Carne says, till Lindsey puts an end to the discussion!

[Mike B]

Well, at least that's how I interpret the song.

Nice interp, Johnny Stew. I didn't even think of that side of it, but I can see how it fits. And while I do still think it was politically motivated, I like that there is more than one way to absorb the song. I think that's one of my favorite things about this band's music...we can kinda mold their words to fit our own personal view.

Mike B.

[Mac Fan]

I'm so addicted to Peacekeeper.

[Johnny Stew]

Originally posted by DownOnRodeo
But you failed to remark on the line 'love is the sweet surprise' which doesn't fit with the rest of your interpretation, just as 'peacekeeper' didnt fit with Johnny's (Haha, JohnnyStew, that 'Stevie mentioned she was a peacekeeper' rationale? You don't seriously think that is likely relevant?lol)

So I'm just running with my same old theory about how the theme is about 'War for Peace', as this explains all the lyrics.

UNLESS Myndpeace and Johnny can come with some credible explanations for those respective lines!!

Ah, but I did offer an explanation for the usage of the word "peacekeeper"... although whether it's credible or not is entirely up to the reader!

Alas, I made the unfortunate, and completely self-defeating, choice of first doing a "what if" in regards to Stevie being the "peacekeeper"... and that seems to be the only aspect of my interpretation that people are focusing on.
No one seems to have noticed the comment that followed....

In a more universal way... the "peacekeeper" could be anyone who tries to make a relationship work. Sometimes sacrificing who they are in the process.

THAT is who I really think the "peacekeeper" is.
Someone who has worked hard to make their relationships work out. Who's given their all, to the point where they feel tapped-out, and doubtful of whether or not they can continue on.

My whole Stevie/Peacekeeper scenario was just meant as a silly aside... given however much weight one wanted to bring to it.



Johnny Stew