The Military Mother's Anthem

Angela Lashley, a singer-songwriter out of Nashville, co-wrote and recorded "So Brave" with Grammy-nominated musician Byron House in honor of her son, Jonathan, a member of the U.S. Army in the 82nd Airborne Division.  Inspired by a question Lashley asked her husband the day Jonathan joined the service--"When did he become so brave"--the song has become what the media has described as "The Military Mom's Anthem."  Intertwining anecdotes of her son's bravery and determination through the years and her own feelings of pride and sadness, "So Brave" has found a strong following among military families.

The mainstream media, however, has been less enthusiastic in its praise.  In a 2007 interview with Tom Kovach of WorldNetDaily.com, she explains, "Some in the media have shut out the story of this song, which comes from a military mother's mouth, because it has a positive angle.  The 'mainstream' ignores the unheard majority.  If this was a protest song, it would be all over the airwaves."

In an interesting twist, she goes on to distinguish herself from another military mother, Cindy Sheehan, who has become the vocal figurehead of the anti-war movement.  Lashley explains, "The song originally had no political tones.  But, it has become political, because of 'the infamous mother,' who has embarrassed so many of us military mothers.  In contrast, there is a vast 'unheard majority' that I represent.  I've become 'an activist for the non-activists.'  And, as if we don't have enough to worry about with our children in war zones, mothers nationwide have told me of their concern about mistreatment of soldiers because of others in the media." 

It's interesting that Lashley fulfills her role as "activist for the non-activists" through song and not through speeches or demonstrations, bringing into question the appropriations of oratorical space according to gender and motherhood and bringing to life the work of Nicole Loraux (Mothers in Mourning) and Susan Faludi (The Terror Dream: Fear and Fantasy in Post 9/11 America).  Oppositionally, Lashley's song is the non-political foil to Sheehan's politically charged anti-war speeches, the emotion-packed threnos to the logical epitaphios logos, the appropriate behavior of a military mom to Sheehan's inappropriate actions, the embodiment of the private (oikos) and the public/political (polis).  Lashley fulfills her role of the "good military mother" by bearing her grief, shouldering her sacrifice to her country, and finding pride and patriotism in the deployment of her son.

(photo courtesy of the Lashley family and WorldNetDaily.com, 2007)

"So Brave" (See this site for the lyrics)

I remember when you learned to walk
I remember when you learned to talk
But I, can't remember when, you learned to be so brave.
That time you stood up for a little guy,
Took on the bully at school, twice your size;
Was it then, do I remember when, you learned to be so brave.
If you ship out in September
Will my Christmas wish bring you home by December?
I'll be thinkin' of you and I'll remember...
There was a puppy love you gave a valentine,
A broken heart that wouldn’t cry;
Was it then, do I remember when, you learned to be so brave.
When you ship out in September,
I won’t even know where you've gone.
I'll have to be so brave in December
If my Christmas wish don’t get you home.
Your courage came so young and tender
Thinkin' back now I remember...
So brave ...
The year you made the team and practiced everyday.
Hurt yourself and never got to play;
Maybe then, do I remember when, you learned to be so brave...
If you ship out in September
Will my Christmas wish bring you home by December?
I'll be thinkin' of you, son, I'll remember
How you learned to be so brave.
So brave...