Afton Wolfe
War is a blight on civilization, yet it goes hand in hand with the human psyche. But as tragic and terrible as war is, the adult mind can at least see the reasons why we keep falling into such scenarios – greed, political ambition, belief, cultural identity, history, and the list goes on.
But what about the children who know only that war rages around them, and all they can do is ask why? And out of the mouths of babes, any answers to such innocent questions seem inadequate. As Afton Wolfe states, “This is a song about children who didn’t have any say in the fact that there is a war going on, killing them and their families. These children are dehumanized and punished for the crime of being born on the wrong end of the missiles.”
And this he puts to his trademark blues. Still, here it is punctuated with stabbing beats, the whirling sonic dervish of a gypsy violin, howling sonics, and his growling vocals, usually warm and seductive, here stark and poignant.
The question, as always, is not whether we need another brutally honest anti-war song but why, after thousands of years of war and brutality, artists such as Afton Wolfe still feel compelled to add their voices to the cause. It is as if we have learned nothing.
