Blunt was educated at Elstree School, Woolhampton, then Harrow School (where he received his nickname 'Blunty'), and finally the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. Before the release of his album, Blunt was a commissioned officer in the British Army, rose to the rank of Captain and served as a NATO peacekeeper in Kosovo. He was also on duty for the funeral of the Queen Mother on 9th April, 2002.
He is currently signed to Linda Perry's American label Custard, and became the first British artist to top the American singles chart in nearly a decade when his first single from Back to Bedlam, "You're Beautiful", reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2006. The last British artist to do so had been Elton John in 1997 with the song Candle in the Wind.
His second album, All The Lost Souls, was released on 17th September 2007.
His third album, Some Kind of Trouble, was released on 8th November 2010.
Year active 2004- present
No Bravery
James Blunt Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Arms outstretched and to the sky
Tears drying on their face
He has been here
Brothers lie in shallow graves
Fathers lost without a trace
A nation blind to their disgrace
Since he's been here
And I see no bravery
No bravery
In your eyes anymore
Only sadness
And I see no bravery
No bravery
In your eyes anymore
Only sadness
Only sadness
Houses burnt beyond repair
The smell of death is in the air
A woman weeping in despair says
He has been here
Tracers lighting up the sky
It's another family's turn to die
A child afraid to even cry out says
He has been here
And I see no bravery (no bravery)
No bravery (no bravery)
In your eyes anymore
Only sadness
And I see no bravery
No bravery
In your eyes anymore
Only sadness
There are children standing here
Arms outstretched and to the sky
But no one asks the question why
He has been here
Old men kneel to except their fate
Wives and daughters cut and raped
A generation drenched in hate says
He has been here
And I see no bravery
No bravery
In your eyes anymore only sadness
And I see no bravery
No bravery
In your eyes anymore
Anymore
Anymore
Anymore
And I see no bravery
No bravery
In your eyes anymore
Only sadness
And I see no bravery
No bravery
In your eyes anymore
Only sadness
Only sadness
The song "No Bravery" by James Blunt discusses the tragedy and heartache that war brings to innocent people, particularly children. The beginning of the song paints a stark picture of a war-torn country with images of children standing with their arms outstretched and tears drying on their faces. The song then goes on to describe the shallow graves of brothers who have been killed, fathers who have disappeared, and a nation that is blind to their own disgrace.
As the song progresses, the imagery becomes more graphic and tragic - houses burned beyond repair, the smell of death in the air, weeping women, and families dying. The singer of the song speaks directly to the soldiers, pointing out their lack of bravery and the sadness that is now present in their eyes.
The final verse mentions the acceptance of fate by older men, wives and daughters being cut and raped, and an entire generation being drenched in hate. The song closes with a sad and poignant reminder that the bravery of the soldiers is gone, replaced only by sadness.
In summary, "No Bravery" is a powerful and emotional song that shines a light on the cost of war, particularly to innocent civilians. The song is a plea to soldiers to consider the human cost of their actions and to find the bravery necessary to work for peace.
Line by Line Meaning
There are children standing here
There are innocent children who are present and witnessing the atrocities of war.
Arms outstretched and to the sky
The children are pleading for help and a way out of a hopeless situation.
Tears drying on their face
The children have been crying, but have been unable to find any solace or comfort.
He has been here
The presence of the enemy is the cause of the destruction and suffering of the innocent.
Brothers lie in shallow graves
Many young men have lost their lives in this conflict, and their families are left grieving.
Fathers lost without a trace
Many fathers have been taken away from their families, and are either missing or have been killed.
A nation blind to their disgrace
The nation responsible for the conflict is either ignorant or indifferent to the suffering of those affected.
Since he's been here
The destruction and death toll has been a result of the presence of the enemy.
I see no bravery
Despite the struggles and hardships, there is no sign of true bravery, only sadness and resignation.
In your eyes anymore
There is no hope or ambition left in those fighting and suffering through the conflict.
Only sadness
The emotions that remain are only ones of sorrow, regret, and despair.
Houses burnt beyond repair
The conflict has caused irreparable damage to people's homes, both physically and emotionally.
The smell of death is in the air
The violence and loss has left a somber and haunting atmosphere.
A woman weeping in despair says
Even individuals who are not directly involved in the conflict are unable to avoid the pain and suffering it has caused.
Tracers lighting up the sky
There is always a constant reminder of the danger and destruction taking place in the form of explosive lights.
It's another family's turn to die
The violence and killing is an endless cycle that only adds to the pain of those who survive.
A child afraid to even cry out says
The fear and trauma of the conflict has even silenced the voices of the most innocent among us.
No one asks the question why
The underlying causes and motivations for the conflict are not being acknowledged or addressed.
Old men kneel to except their fate
Even those who have lived through more peaceful times are unable to escape the suffering caused by the conflict.
Wives and daughters cut and raped
The violence of the conflict has caused unspeakable pain and suffering to women and girls.
A generation drenched in hate says
The trauma and loss of the conflict has fueled a new generation with bitterness, anger, and pain.
Anymore
This situation has gone on long enough, and needs to be addressed and resolved.
Anymore
The pain and loss of the conflict is too much to bear any longer.
Anymore
The hopelessness of the situation is overwhelming.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Downtown Music Publishing
Written by: James Blount, Sacha Skarbek
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@drops2cents260
+Meggie
> but why did you fought in Iraq when you’re against war?
Disclaimer (kind of): Please don't take my answer the wrong way. I definitely don't intend to be rude in a "what do you know?" way, I just want to explain possible reasons why fighting a war might be necessary sometimes.
So I hope I can answer your question; if not, please feel free to ask, debate and/or maybe disagree (that's perfectly fine, too).
Sometimes it's not enough to just be against war, but it might be necessary (or sometimes even inevitable) to take up arms to end one or prevent people from starting one in the first place.
By the way, there's an interesting video from TEDxAmsterdam in 2012, where General Peter van Uhm (the former Dutch Chief of Defence) explains his reasons why he became a soldier which might provide you with some answers, or at least interesting insights. You can watch it here on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjAsM1vAhW0
Speaking from my personal experience, I served as an NCO in the Austrian Army for eight years back in the 1990ies.
I first started in 1991 as a conscript in a Gebirgsjäger (mountain infantry) batallion and left after my six months of compulsory service, only to rejoin again as a professional soldier about one year later. After two more years with the "mountaineers", I joined the paratrooper company(*) of our air assault batallion for another two years. After that, I applied for Selection for the Jagdkommando (the Austrian Special Forces unit), passed (not at all with flying colours, I have to admit, but at least "in the lower half of the top quarter", according to our instructors and the CO), and stayed with SF for the remaining four years.
Originally, I joined the army for similar reasons why people become a member of a police force: There are bad guys out there, and thus there's the need for people willing to either prevent them from harming others, or make them pay for it fair and square if they do.
And when I became an SF soldier, I do have to admit that the main reason for my application for Selection originally was very much out of a lust for adventure and being "one of the big tough fellas who can achieve anything and beat anyone" (yes, I was young, naive and quite cocky).
But soon I realised that being a member of SF was much more, that a small team of us very highly-trained professionals could be able to prevent much bigger bloodshed which happens e.g. in large battles. By training for things like, for instance, conducting long-range recce operations to provide valuable intelligence, or conducting covert sabotage raids and offensive actions against high valuable targets (not only persons, but also e.g. enemy supply installations or communications infrastructure) to possibly reduce the combat effectiveness of an enemy force or maybe even prevent an attack in the first place, which in the end would actually save lives on both sides.
That's why I didn't just stay with the long-range recce troop, but volunteered for every opportunity to attend additional training in parachuting, communications, weapons, EMT, scout/sniper and what have you. So yes, I became some kind of an "educational junkie". :-)
I also served three tours in the Balkans with IFOR, SFOR and KFOR because I wanted to make a difference.
I was part of recon operations to ensure that IFOR forces could move safely into Bosnia and do their thing (i.e. end the war and pacify the country), member of anti-sniper elements in various places to detain snipers who were terrorising the civilian population, doing reconnaissance work later on to provide intelligence for SFOR forces, extended patrol duty to detain war criminals and also took part in operations to locate and exhume mass graves like the one in Srebrenica. I wasn't part of that actual operation, though, because that happened before my time. But I've seen my share of mutilated and decomposing corpses and lost my lunch over it (or decided to postpone chow to prevent same) a few times.
In addition, I also took part in a a private initiative of an Austrian reserve NCO who works as a master-builder in civilian life which assembled a team of volunteers to rebuild a schoolhouse in a village near our camp. Just to make a difference, and because going to war isn't everything.
So, TL;DR:
"Being against war" sometimes does mean "having to fight one", or as I liked to say: "if humanity should decide to disband all armed forces because they're not needed anymore, I'd be among those who would be delighted to be out of a job; sadly, reality is different - yet".
Or, as US president Theodore Roosevelt put it: "I have always been fond of the West African proverb: Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far." (BTW, Roosevelt also said "But if I must choose between righteousness and peace, I choose righteousness", which I also subscribe to - partly. Partly, because that has to be taken with a huge grain of salt, because righteousness without humility, self-criticism and common sense can - and almost inevitably does - lead very quickly to people becoming self-righteous and sanctamonious, which must be avoided for obvious reasons.)
(*) Yes, our armed forces are so small indeed that we have only one company of Paras. :-)
(But we nevertheless proudly wear our maroon berets, because we are professional paratroopers and thus rightfully deserve to do so.)
@drops2cents260
> but the mos happiest moment of my life was when i saw NATO soldiers
So we did make a difference? I'm glad to hear that (I was a member of Austrian SF doing covert work down there back then).
> From deep down of my heart.THANK YOU.
You're very welcome, and I'd like to suggest that the best way to thank those of us who were down there to help you is: Pass it on.
I.e. do some good to any other human who is in need, regardless if he belongs to your town, creed, ethnicity or not.
I think the only way that Kosovo might someday be a country in its own right (and maybe even an EU member, who knows) where people can and will live together in peace and friendship without caring about one's ethnicity is to work out: how to accept what happened, how to punish those responsible, and how to leave the past behind at some point. Those who committed crimes have to be held responsible, that's a no-brainer - but not their children, relatives or others of the same ethnicity who did nothing wrong.
All that hatred has to stop at some time.
I can understand that those who fought each other might find it difficult to forget what happened and trust each other, but it's young people like you from all sides who can start to let bygones be bygones (while remembering what happened to not make the same stupid mistakes again), cooperate and leave behind such obsolete and asinine concepts like ethnicity etc.
If you can achieve that, you can and will do better than many of those of my age and older (I'm due to pass the mid-forties this year), and you might be those who make ethnic differences a thing of the past which people in the future might shake their heads in disbelief and ask why we and the ones before us could have been so unbelievably stupid.
You are the future, so please make the best of it, so that those good things we might have started after being bloody idiots will not be in vain.
As Martin Luther King put it so brilliantly: "The old law of an eye for an eye leaves everybody blind".
We humans have to end that, at long last. Links arms, don't bear them.
@juliajezz3866
There are children standing here
Arms outstretched and to the sky
Tears drying on their face
He has been here
Brothers lie in shallow graves
Fathers lost without a trace
A nation blind to their disgrace
Since he's been here
And I see no bravery
No bravery
In your eyes anymore only sadness
And I see no bravery
No bravery
In your eyes anymore only sadness
Only sadness
Houses burnt beyond repair
The smell of death is in the air
A woman weeping in despair says
He has been here
Tracer lighting up the sky
It's another family's turn to die
A child afraid to even cry out says
He has been here
And I see no bravery
No bravery
In your eyes anymore only sadness
And I see no bravery
No bravery
In your eyes anymore only sadness
Only sadness
There are children standing here
Arms outstretched and to the sky
But no one asks the question why
He has been here
Old men kneel to except their fate
Wives and daughters cut and raped
A generation drenched in hate says
he has been here
And I see no bravery
No bravery
In your eyes anymore only sadness
And I see no bravery
No bravery
In your eyes anymore
Anymore, anymore, anymore
And I see no bravery
No bravery
In your eyes anymore only sadness
And I see no bravery
No bravery
In your eyes anymore only sadness
Only sadness
@NinoProductions
Thank you very much James. You are a great person. Thank you. Respect From Albania...
@nemomoriarty4303
Fuck Albania
@icebolteyefire5588
@@nemomoriarty4303 Stop thats No respect
@bsg75husker
@@nemomoriarty4303 no need for this at all. why be a dick in these difficu;t times? i dont get it ?
@Harrykanethegoat_
@@nemomoriarty4303 you like 5
@andrewcamden
Thank you from the world! He stopped WW3. Look up "Singer James Blunt 'prevented World War III'" on the BBC.
@LauraBidingCitizen
This song needs far more recognition than its received.
@MrBillyLaw
Laura Williams True
@giantsauceboss7775
My teacher played it so you got that
@matiewz1
yes