Brad Paisley on ‘Love and War': ‘I’m Right’
Brad Paisley agrees the song "Love and War" is as strong of a social statement as he's ever made on an album. You won't find an ounce of hesitation or regret in his voice as he discusses it.
The title track of his most recent album is about how American war veterans are treated when they come home. "And they say all is fair in love and war / But that ain't true, it's wrong," he sings on a duet with John Fogerty. "They send you off to die for us / Forget about you when you don’t."
"It's rare that you're sure you're right in life. I'm finding that," Paisley says. "Life isn't always black and white. You're not always sure you're right. At least I'm not ... This is one where we're right. I'm pretty sure of that. We're right when we say they're not being honored."
No one person or government agency is blamed during the centerpiece of Paisley's newest album. There's enough blame to go around, he says, and even the Department of Veterans Affairs would get behind his statement.
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"It's one thing that back in the Vietnam era, they were spit on," Paisley says of war vets coming home. "We learned from that. We didn't make that mistake again with Iraq or Afghanistan. We learned that whether or not you support the war you honor the soldiers that fight."
"But we didn't learn everything we needed to learn, because it's one thing to not spit on them, but it's another thing to say, 'We honor you' and then not give them what they deserve or need when they get back," he adds.
Fogerty has a long history of songs on this topic and a personal story to tell, having been in the military. Paisley came to him to write this specific song, and the two found a thread quickly. The classic rocker is able to tie the two eras together and recognizes improvements have been made over the decades. Despite a longer history with taking a stand on behalf of war veterans, he sees the issue as more dynamic. For example, we're trained to say "Thank you for your service" to members of the armed services.
"I think the opinion and awareness in our culture is better now than it was back in the '60s," Fogerty tells Taste of Country.
A recently-released music video for "Love and War" is part of the visual album for Love and War. The audio version of the album is out now. The visual album drops on April 28.
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