Take No Heroes
Redskins Lyrics
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Let slip in a casual way
Nobody seemed to care anycase
I didn't realise, I turned away
Somebody told me today
And though my mind was miles away
Slowly the pain welled inside
Take no heroes, only inspiration
And if you learn nothing from his life
Learn this from his death
The man may die but his dream survives
I headed out, walked the town
Staring sick & lonely
Strange faces passed
And they didn't know...
I wanted to tell them so but
Oh the rain beat hard & cold
A finer truth hit hard
Took hold
Take no heroes, only inspiration
And if you learn nothing from his life
Learn this one thing
The man may die
The man may die but his dream survives
Take no heroes
Take no heroes
Take no heroes
No way I could explain
No one to explain it to anyway
But a tearful misery's a sorry legacy
And this is not the time for sad obituaries
The rain beat hard and cold
Learn this thing
Take no heroes
Take no heroes
Take no heroes
Take no heroes
The man may die
The man may die
The man may die
But he's dream survives
Take no heroes
The lyrics of “Take No Heroes” by Redskins convey a message to the listeners to not perceive anyone as a hero rather they should be an inspiration. The song starts with the singer talking about being informed about something casually which nobody seemed to care about. He turned away, but as he kept thinking about it, the pain started to well up inside him as he realized that the person he was informed about had died. The singer then takes a walk in the town where he feels lonely and sick. He sees a lot of strange faces, but no one seems to understand what he is going through. The lyrics end with the singer saying that he cannot explain what he is feeling, but one thing that anyone can learn from someone’s death is to not take them as a hero but an inspiration.
The lyrics of this song touch upon the idea of not idolizing anyone for what they have accomplished. Rather, their life should serve as an inspiration to do well and carry forward their dreams. The singer understands that the dream of a person might survive even if that person dies, but if people only idolize the person, they will never understand the true nature of their dreams. The singer conveys his message very strongly through the lyrics and the beat of ‘Take No Heroes.’ This song has become even more relevant today when we are surrounded by people who become instant heroes for various reasons.
Line by Line Meaning
Somebody told me today
The singer was informed of something by someone
Let slip in a casual way
The information was given in a casual manner, without any real intent or emphasis
Nobody seemed to care anycase
Despite the importance of the information, nobody seemed to be concerned about it
I didn't realise, I turned away
The singer initially did not grasp the significance of the information
And though my mind was miles away
Despite being preoccupied with other things, the singer still registered the importance of the news
Slowly the pain welled inside
The singer felt a growing sense of sadness and loss as they realized the implications of what they had been told
As I realised he'd died
The information was about someone's death, which the singer finally came to understand
Take no heroes, only inspiration
The singer believes that it's better to be inspired by someone rather than deifying them as a hero
And if you learn nothing from his life
If you don't learn anything from the person's life, at least learn this from their death
Learn this from his death
The lesson to be learned is that even if a person dies, their dreams and aspirations can still live on
The man may die but his dream survives
Even if the person who had the dream dies, it can still be pursued by someone else
I headed out, walked the town
The singer left their present location and took a walk around town
Staring sick & lonely
The singer felt unwell and alone
Strange faces passed
The singer saw people they didn't know
And they didn't know...
Those strangers were unaware of what the singer had just learned
I wanted to tell them so but
The singer wanted to share the news with others, but couldn't bring themselves to do it
Oh the rain beat hard & cold
It was raining heavily and the weather was unpleasant
A finer truth hit hard
The real truth of the situation struck the singer deeply
Took hold
The truth became firmly established in the singer's mind
No way I could explain
The singer realized that they couldn't adequately explain the news to others
No one to explain it to anyway
There was nobody around who the singer could share the news with
But a tearful misery's a sorry legacy
The singer didn't want to be remembered for being sad and tearful
And this is not the time for sad obituaries
The singer believed that now was not the time for mourning, but for action
Learn this thing
Another reminder to learn the lesson from the person's death
Take no heroes
The refrain emphasizing the importance of not idolizing individuals as heroes, but instead being inspired by them
The man may die
Another reminder that even if the person dies, their dream can continue
Contributed by Allison K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
MsALCHEMY1
What a voice! What a band! I was too young to go to gigs back then so my older brother used to give me bootlegs of them (amongst others) to listen to. He died young and this song makes me think of him. He was a huge inspiration. Keep on Keepin on! The Redskins still sound as fresh today as they did back then. There was another version of this song, with vocal harmonies at the beginning, i dont know if anyone has posted that to youtube.
therealriscy
epic track - such a classic! Thanks for posting it, shame the modern generation does not have bands like this to listen to.
Chatharina
Love this song, love this voice. Heard it every time when things were bad. Hey Chris - why didn't you go on singing?
Jonathan Hadley
Take No Heroes Only Inspiration!
Julien Samama
The Man may die....but my Dreams are alive
old_thug
☯︎✔︎