What does The General mean?

Dispatch: The General Meaning

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Album cover for The General album cover

The General Lyrics

there was a decorated general with
a heart of gold, that likened him to
all the stories he told
of past battles, won and lost, and
legends of old a seasoned veteran in
his own time

on the battlefield, he gained
respectful fame with many...

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  1. 1TOP RATED

    #1 top rated interpretation:
    anonymous
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     Jan 28th 2010 !⃝

    This Song is about war in general. The general's dream is the realization of the horror of war, he isn't losing he is destroying the other army. When he "Sees" the others it is refering to him realizing the devistation he has caused to other men, whhen he sees "Their Mothers" he sees the effect he and his men have done to the civilians who werent even part of the war. He realizes war is awful and the effect it has on people and even his own soldiers, war causes a supression of emotion in soldiers because if they dont kill the enemy then they will be killed. He tells his men to leave with there inocents, "Take a shower, Shine your shoes" he wants them to go before there emotions are tainted by war. He himself has a beard, he has been tainted by fighting so he thinks he cant be saved so he stays and fights, finishing his own duty, and he will inevitably be killed so he wont have to deal with war any more.

  2. 2TOP RATED

    #2 top rated interpretation:
    anonymous
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     Jul 4th 2009 !⃝

    The band members themselves have said that this song is based off of the American Civil War. It is possible that this general is the Confederate General Robert E. Lee. A veteran, and one of the finest tacticans ever to live, he fits the desciption of the general perfectly. This song may refer to his surrender at Appomattox Courthouse where, after a short engagement, he was forced to surrender. In his farwell address to his army he speaks of some of the main points of this song:
    "Headquarters, Army of Northern Virginia, 10th April 1865.

    After four years of arduous service marked by unsurpassed courage and fortitude, the Army of Northern Virginia has been compelled to yield to overwhelming numbers and resources.

    I need not tell the survivors of so many hard fought battles, who have remained steadfast to the last, that I have consented to the result from no distrust of them.

    But feeling that valour and devotion could accomplish nothing that could compensate for the loss that must have attended the continuance of the contest, I have determined to avoid the useless sacrifice of those whose past services have endeared them to their countrymen.

    By the terms of the agreement, officers and men can return to their homes and remain until exchanged. You will take with you the satisfaction that proceeds from the consciousness of duty faithfully performed, and I earnestly pray that a merciful God will extend to you his blessing and protection.

    With an unceasing admiration of your constancy and devotion to your Country, and a grateful remembrance of your kind and generous consideration for myself, I bid you an affectionate farewell.

    – R. E. Lee, General, General Order No. 9"

    Though it seems the Dispatch bend members have somewhat twisted its meaning for an Anti-War purpose.

  3. 3TOP RATED

    #3 top rated interpretation:
    anonymous
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     Aug 23rd 2010 !⃝

    all of these interpretations are valid and i went a long time enjoying this song by listening to it with those ideas. But today I gained a greater apretiation by finding parallels to Jesus. Jesus was the general to his disciples. He knew he would be killed by the Romans, so he told them to leave him and he waited. At the end, he forgives everyone. He went into it alone to forgive all of the soldiers, both Christian and Roman. He saw value in both sides. Jesus's fight was about forgiveness and I think these lyrics capture this idea well.

    It may not have been the original meaning, but I like to think it can apply.

  4. anonymous
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     Jun 28th 2010 !⃝

    hmm. its more about how soldiers are taught to be desensitizied. read argueably the best war novel ever " All quiet on the Western front " .. the trouble for soldiers is when the people they kill have faces and names. its eazy to kill some person far away.. the problem is to kill up close or by hand, or even when they have a name.

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
  5. anonymous
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     May 4th 2010 !⃝

    This song is about a man who spent his life mastering the art of war, a general beloved by his men, who realizes the cost of war is too high, the fight is not worth fighting. In a dream, he sees a vision of "the others", the opposing forces, as well as their mothers, and he realizes what it means that the enemy is also human, with family's that love them and mourn their deaths. Changed by his dream, he orders his men to return home and live their lives rather than continue fighting, killing, and dying. He reminds them that they are young, and have a many things still to live for. As for himself, he knows he has a duty to perform even though he no longer believes in war, and he accepts that he is honor-bound to continue on alone.

  6. anon127
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     Dec 10th 2008 !⃝

    hate to say it but i think your wrong...
    This song is mostly about fighting your own battles. Chetro is expressing his views on war. his libralistic views are demonstraited in this song. he is partly saying that you shouldnt fight a war if its not for yourself. dont fight for things you don't truly believe in.
    He writes about the "old general tossing in his sleep and wrestling with its meaning." he had a dream of the war and came to a bitter realization of the lack of reason for fighting. he realizes the men on the other side are also innocent and dont deserve death for a cause that affects their country's standing not their's. "i have seen the other's" "I have seen their mother's" "this fight is not worth fighting"
    as for the old decorated general.. he is used to emphacize that even such an expierenced general realized this was wrong

  7. anonymous
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     Sep 29th 2008 !⃝

    Many think the song is more specific than a general releasing his soldiers when he realizes the war is pointless. One can point to lines like "grew a beard as soon as her could" as evidence that the soldiers are very young, child soldiers, such as are being impressed into the military in various African nations. The general releases them when he realizes the war is pointless, but he also does much more than that, he pardons them for what they have done in the war possibly including atrocities committed. "Go now, you are forgiven"

    In any case, it's a beautiful song.

  8. anonymous
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     Nov 14th 2007 !⃝

    I feel that this song is really to show that you need to live your life. In the chorus it says, "take a shower, shine your shoes, you got no time to loose, you are young men you must be livin'" the part "you got no time to loose" shows that you only live once, so live your life to the fullest. The band members were like that, they protested against rights that they didn't believe in, they were arrested at one point for protesting in an election. They wanted to prove to the public what their feelings were, so they did it through song, for that's the only way, that they found, was how they could be heard. And it just ended up that this was their most famous song.

  9. anonymous
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     Jul 15th 2007 !⃝

    I think that it is about a war general who has a dream the night before a big battle and realizes that what the army is doing is wrong (war in Iraq) so he sends his troops home but stays because he must follow orders.

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway

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