The General

This song tells a story about a brilliant and battle-torn general who has a dream in which he realizes the futility of war. He then attempts to persuade his men that they do not have to participate in the battle, but that he would fulfill the job he had sworn to do. He wants them to leave and live a full life, but none of his men will leave him.

Dispatch's vocalist and guitarist, Chad Urmston, told us that this song is even more relevant now than it was in 1998: "It's more relevant today than it was when I wrote it. I've always been fascinated by war and been lucky enough not to have the hands in experience. But I can understand that it must be hell and that there's also a deep sense of brother/sisterhood that is unique to that experience." (Here's our full Chad Urmston interview.)

Urmston told us this song was inspired by "a summer of playing Hendrix's "Castles Made of Sand" constantly."