The Meaning of Dispatch’s “The General”

“The General” by roots rock band Dispatch is the biggest hit from their most well-known album, Bang Bang (1997). The track is known by virtually anybody who lived through the 90s, and continues to gain recognition as a classic American anti-war song with a beach-friendly arrangement.

Written by the core original trio of Brad Corrigan (Braddigan), Chadwick Stokes, and Pete Francis Heimbold (who left the band in 2019), “The General” tells the story of a general who decides that the war is not worth fighting and tells his men to go home.

Dispatch – “The General” (1997)

“The General” Origins

In the 2003 book, The Best of Dispatch, Chad Urmston says that the song was loosely imagined to be General Robert E. Lee addressing his Confederate army during the Civil War:

This was our anti-war song. Although it was primarily based on the Civil War, the message was not confined to that particular conflict. The song tells about General Robert E. Lee telling his Confederate army to basically go home and stop fighting. We were too young to be directly involved in the Gulf War; nevertheless, the sense of a troubled history rings loud in the heads of young men who grow up listening to grandfathers or fathers recount war stories. The crowd response to this song always blew us away. Some said it had a “Castles Made of Sand” feel – any reference to Hendrix we took gladly.

Chad Urmston on the story behind “The General” by Dispatch.

In the Studio

From that same Best of Dispatch book, Chad continues to tell the story of recording the song. When he refers to “northeast kingdom,” he means northeastern Vermont:

We recorded the song up in the northeast kingdom on borrowed instruments. Our hazy-eyed hairball engineer swayed like a derelict wrecking ball over the console like a played-out carnie with nothing to show for a lifetime of swindling. His down-to-the-filter cigarette wandered listlessly with a skeletal droop of ash as he leaned on his crippled office chair teasing gravity. He ended up giving in to his heavy eyes and passing out on the couch with his feet up, still holding the cigarette as Brad and I took turns pressing the “record” and “locate” buttons.

Chad Urmston on recording “The General.”

“The General” Lyrics Analysis

While the above quotes give an overview of the song’s meaning, some readers may want to dive deeper into the lyrics themselves. Let’s start with the first verse.

Verse One

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 medals of bravery and stripes to his name
He grew a beard as soon as he could to cover the scars on his face
And always urged his men on

This verse introduces the general, who is kind despite having decorations from countless battles, and the stories to go with them. We picture a gray old man with a battle-grizzled face. He has always been known for encouraging his men to fight, which is an important note for the song’s narrative arc.

Verse Two

But on the eve of a great battle with the infantry in dream
The old general tossed in his sleep and wrestled with its meaning
He awoke from that night to tell what he had seen
And walked slowly out of his tent

All the men held tall with their chests in the air
With courage in their blood and a fire in their stare
And it was a grey morning and they all wondered how they would fare
Till the old general told them to go home

One night, before a big battle, a revelation came to the general in a dream. He is pictured tossing and turning through the night. In the morning, he comes out to address his men, who are all prepared for battle. The weather is grey, and on each man’s mind was whether or not they would die in battle.

Chorus

He said, “I have seen the others, and I have discovered
That this fight is not worth fighting
And I’ve seen their mothers
And I will no other
To follow me where I’m going

So take your shower, shine your shoes, you got no time to lose
You are young and you must be living
So take your shower, shine your shoes, you got no time to lose
You are young and you must be living
Go now, you are forgiven”

This is everybody’s favorite part of the song, where they reveal the content of the general’s dreams. Apparently, the night before he had seen the humanity in the other side, their families, and their lives, and has had a change of heart.

He decides that since he’s been in it for life, he hold his own post, but he will not require the men to fight alongside him. In fact, he recommends they go home, take a shower, shine up their shoes. They are young and they’ve got living to do.

Verse Three

But the men stood fast with their guns on their shoulders
Not knowing what to do with their contradicting orders
The general said he would do his own duty but he would extend it no further
The men could go as they pleased

But not a man moved, their eyes gazed straight ahead
Till one by one they stepped back, and not a word was said
And the old general was left with his own words echoing in his head
He then prepared to fight

At first, the men are hesitant to leave, but the general reiterates his statement. It took a few moments, but eventually, they silently stepped back one at a time until the general himself was the last man standing.

This creates a very powerful image of the youth being allowed to prosper instead of fighting in a war, leading one to question the sensibility of war as a concept. That the humans on both sides are the same at their core and the war is robbing them of the most valuable gift that we are all given.

Outro

The outro ties everything together, with the repeated lyric, “Go now, you are forgiven.” Not only are these men free to live their lives, but they are also forgiven for having fought in the war in the first place.

Overall, “The General” is a truly powerful song from a band that built a cult following in the 90s that still supports them to this day. While they never did write another hit with the impact of “The General,” they stand as a treasured American roots rock band who have plenty of other interesting music to explore. I recommend the whole Bang Bang album, and have always enjoyed the 2001 Gut the Van live album.

Dispatch – “The General (Live)” [2001]

Russian Version

In 2022, Dispatch released a Russian language version of “The General” in protest of the war in Ukraine.

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