Walking on a Thin Line
1984 · Chrysalis VS4 42825 · USA
- Artist
- Huey Lewis and the News
- Title
- Walking on a Thin Line
- Release
- Walking on a Thin Line / The Only One
- Year
- 1984
- Label
- Chrysalis # VS4 42825
- Format
- 7" · Single
- Language
- English
- Country
- USA
- Genre
- Rock · Pop Rock
- Primary theme
- Post-War
Annotation
The Californian pop-rock band, formed in 1979, released the song "Walking on a Thin Line" (Chrysalis # 42825) which looked at the thoughts of a soldier during the Vietnam War, either in the process of fighting or back home. The lyrics touched on the US military training its soldier to kill: "taught me how to shoot to kill, a specialist with a deadly skill". It then turned to a veteran being ignored on the streets: "so easy to ignore...labeled as freaks loose on the streets of the city". It also posed the question "is that what I was fighting for?" - one of the famous questions in the battle between the anti-war protesters and the pro-government supporters, which featured in many songs (see the list below). The single peaked at # 18 in the Billboard charts on 8 December 1984. It featured on the 1983 album Sports (Chrysalis # FV 41412).1 Written by Andre Pessis and Kevin Wells.Sources1Billboard, 8 December 1984↩
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Lyrics
English: Sometimes in my bed at night I curse the dark and I pray for light / And sometimes, the light's no consolation, blinded by a memory / Afraid of what it might do to me and the tears and the sweat / Only mock my desperation, don't you know me I'm the boy next door / The one you find so easy to ignore, is that what I was fighting for? / Walking on a thin line, straight off the front line / Labeled as freaks, loose on the streets of the city / Walking on a thin line, angry all the time / Take a look at my face, wee what it's doing to me / Taught me how to shoot to kill / A specialist with a deadly skill / A skill I needed to have to be a survivor / It's over now or so they say / Well, sometimes, it don't work out that way / 'Cause you're never the same when you've been under fire Other "Fighting For" - related songs: Dave Dudley - "What We're Fighting For" (1965) Lonesome Valley Singers - "It's All Worth Fighting For" (1965) Ernest Tubb - "It's for God, and Country, and You Mom (That's Why I'm Fighting in Viet Nam)" (1965) Maybelle Carter - "I Told Them What You're Fighting For" (1966) Tom Parrott - "The Freedoms We've Been Fighting For" (1967) Phil Ochs - "What Are You Fighting For" (1974) Jimmy Coates - "To Mom - With Glory
About the artist
American rock band formed 1979 in San Francisco, California ('Walking on a Thin Line'). [Source: Wikipedia]