What Was It For
About this track
What was it for? A dark, intimate piano-and-voice song about war, loss, memory, and the questions that remain after the fighting ends. We are told who the enemy is. We are told why we must fight. We are told there is a sacred cause. But on the other side of the battlefield, there is another mother. Another father. Another lover. Another son or daughter who is waiting for someone who may never come home. “The enemies we killed were just like you and me.” *What Was It For?* is stripped down to its emotional core: a solitary voice, a minor-key piano, and the memory of those who never made it home. No marching band. No battlefield spectacle. Just a piano, a voice, and one question that refuses to go away: What Was It For? LYRICS War What was it good for What was the sacred cause They gave us someone to hate And called it justice and law They told us they were enemies They told us they were wrong They gave us guns and uniforms And taught us to march along But somewhere on the other side A mother said a prayer A father waited by the door For footsteps on the stairs What was it for What was it for Why weren't we friends before What was it for Tell me what was it for How could I let him go What was the lie I believed The enemies we killed Were just like you and me They had a home They had a name They had somebody waiting For them to come home again They had a photograph Beside their mother's bed They had a little girl Who thought her daddy wasn't dead What was it for What was it for Why weren't we friends before What was it for Tell me, what was it for Now the evening breeze Drives candles to the water For those we've loved and lost Lover, son and daughter One candle for a soldier One candle for a friend One candle for the promises That never reached the end And somewhere in the darkness Someone still calls his name The war has long been over But the silence stays the same What was it for What was it for Why weren't we friends before What was it for Tell me, what was it for What is more sacred Than your son Your only son What is more precious Than the life You brought into this world And somewhere far away The money prophets run They count the cost in dollars While mothers count their sons Yesterday they were enemies. Today they shake their hands. Yesterday they told us We were saving all the land Yesterday we believed them Yesterday we went to war But nobody told the dead What they were dying for What was it for What was it for All those names Upon the wall What was it for What was it for All those mothers Who still call What was it for What was it for Why weren't we friends before War What was it good for What was the sacred cause The enemies we killed Were just like you and me So tell me What was it for War no more Never again ------------------------- Written and Performed by Johnny Punish Produced by Punish Studios * The original poem was written by Sherwood Ross, an activist for U.S. Veterans. It was sent in to Johnny Punish With permission from Sherwood Ross, Johnny Punish adapted it to fit into a song during the week of March 29, 2009 #PianoSong #AntiWarSong #PeaceSong #WarNoMore #NeverAgain #DarkPiano #PianoAndVoice #SingerSongwriter #ProtestSong #EmotionalMusic #MelancholyMusic #OriginalMusic #IndieMusic #AlternativeMusic #WarAndPeace #MusicWithMeaning #JohnnyPunish #WhatWasItFor #PunishThePianoMan