So change your blue star to gold

Sullivan by Caroline's Spine was released in 1997, and boy do I remember it. This was my favorite song until I turned eight-ish. A few years ago when I learned about the Sullivan brother’s in class, I realized what the song truly meant.

There were five Sullivan brothers: Albert, Madison, George, Joseph, and Francis. There were no daughters in the family. They lived in Waterloo, Iowa during World War Two. All five of them were drafted and served in the Navy- on the same ship (USS Juneau) in the South Pacific. The ship was sunk and all of them were killed (technically they were missing in action). Since then, military forces of the United States will not put siblings together in the same bases, ships, etc., to keep one family from losing so much. If you’ve seen Saving Private Ryan, you understand this.

The entire song feels like a dream or a memory, recalling their lives and memories. The guitar riff is very repetitive, and although it is at a more rapid tempo the constant repeat makes you feel like you’re in a big bowl of Jell-O and everything is wavy around you (or maybe that’s just me. I’m also pretty hungry right now, and Jell-O sounds great). All of the instruments become quieter when the lyrics are sang, which puts emphasis not only on the phrasing but on the story itself. The lyrics make me think that this song is a tribute to them and their mother.

            “It’s not hard to reach back to the days after the attack on Pearl. Overnight my buddies turned into men, running out of time for games and girls. And the Sullivan boys were not overlooked, Uncle Sam had called each by name. The very next day they left on a mystery train.” The singer tells the story as if he were there, saying that his friends changed and were drafted.

            “It’s not hard to reach back to the day when the war finally came home. Uncle Sam will send you a telegram so he doesn’t have to tell you over the phone. I heard she cracked up when she found out what the war had cost- when all five of her boys were lost…...So say goodbye, bye, bye, Mrs. Sullivan. Go ahead and cry, cry, cry, cry, cry. We regret to inform you that all your sons have passed away. All five, five, five, five. So change your blue star to gold.” This woman gave all five of her sons to America and they send her a telegram telling her their gone and to change her blue star (to signify that the family has one fighting) to a gold star (to show that someone in the family died in the war). Families proudly displayed these stars in their front windows, but I don’t think the pride of having a loved one serve is enough to console a person.

An image of a star blue star:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/32/Blue_Star_Service_Banner.svg
An image of a gold star:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/31/Gold_Star_Service_Banner.svg


Sullivan by Caroline's Spine:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAxQRX_A2Dc