The Price of Paradise

Annotation

The Minutemen, a post-punk rock band, formed in 1980 in San Pedro, California. Its membership included Mike Watt (bass, vocals), D. Boon (guitar, vocals), Frank Tonche (drums, 1980), and George Hurley (drums, 1980-85). They disbanded in 1985 following the death of D. Boon on 22 December.12 The group released a couple songs that referenced the Vietnam War, including "Viet Nam" (1984) on Double Nickels on the Dime, and "The Price of Paradise" (1985) on 3-Way Tie (For Last). They also released many anti-Reagan songs in the period. The song "The Price of Paradise" (SST Records # SST 058), written by D. Boon, is narrated from the point of view of a boy whose brother went to Vietnam. It argued that the older politicians did not value the lives of the young: "here in paradise the price is cheap, young men die for greed...they fight for men twice their age". The narrator believed that the government / military misled the people and soldiers about the objectives of the "unjust" war. The song also commented on the impact of the war on the soldiers: "the smell of death made his life change". D. Boon painted the front cover of this album, released just before his death - the final Minutemen album. Recorded in August–September 1985.1Sources1The Minutemen's Double Nickels on the Dime (Michael T. Fournier, 2007)↩2SPIN, April 1986↩

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Annotation — Punk Songs

The Minutemen, a Post-Punk / Art Punk band, formed in 1980 in San Pedro, California. Its membership included Mike Watt (bass, vocals), D. Boon (guitar, vocals), Frank Tonche (drums, 1980), and George Hurley (drums, 1980-85). They disbanded in 1985 following the death of D. Boon on 22 December.12 The group released a couple songs that referenced the Vietnam War, including "Viet Nam" (1984) on Double Nickels on the Dime, and "The Price of Paradise" (1985) on 3-Way Tie (For Last). They also released many anti-Reagan songs in the period. The song "The Price of Paradise" (SST Records # SST 058), written by D. Boon, is narrated from the point of view of a boy whose brother went to Vietnam. It argued that the older politicians did not value the lives of the young: "here in paradise the price is cheap, young men die for greed...they fight for men twice their age". The narrator believed that the government / military misled the people and soldiers about the objectives of the "unjust" war. The song also commented on the impact of the war on the soldiers: "the smell of death made his life change". D. Boon painted the front cover of this album, released just before his death - the final Minutemen album. Recorded in August–September 1985.1 Sources1The Minutemen's Double Nickels on the Dime (Michael T. Fournier, 2007)↩2SPIN, April 1986↩

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Lyrics

English: How I remember the history I have seen / I was just a young boy, the horror I couldn't foresee / All the pain that comes with war / All the scars that never heal / Here in paradise the price is cheap / Young men die for greed / Across the ocean, in a land they call Vietnam / Young men dying is all it would cost / We were told and proudly believed / They would fight to keep us free... / My brother, the soldier, was a hero.... / He'd tell the stories of men who died... / And they fight for men twice their age / The smell of death made his life change... / All pawns and puppets of flesh and bone / Will die for their leaders far from their homes / These are men who died very young / Afraid to see that their cause was unjust / Why couldn't they live for life? Not die to survive

About the artist

American punk band formed 1980 in San Pedro, California ('Viet Nam'); disbanded 1985 after D. Boon's death. [Source: Wikipedia]

Themes

Anti-Government

In collections

Punk Songs