Bradley Manning

Album: A Folk Set Apart (2015)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Cass McCombs tells the story here of US soldier Bradley Manning, who later transitioned to Chelsea Manning. The American army whistleblower was convicted by court-martial in July 2013 and sentenced to 35 years in prison, after disclosing to WikiLeaks nearly three-quarters of a million classified or sensitive documents.

    "With politics, sometimes it needs to shoved in people's faces, other times people like myself have to use more subtle means of revolutionizing people," explained McCombs to Uncut. "With that song I just wanted to get away from a political song that was preaching to the people. I just wanted to tell a story - it's a biographical song, it could be about anyone, it just happens to be about Chelsea Manning."
  • McCombs premiered the song on the Democracy Now News Hour in 2012, a year before Bradley Manning's trial.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Daryl Hall

Daryl HallSongwriter Interviews

Daryl Hall's TV show is a hit, and he's been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame - only one of these developments excites him.

Barry Dean ("Pontoon," "Diamond Rings And Old Barstools")

Barry Dean ("Pontoon," "Diamond Rings And Old Barstools")Songwriter Interviews

A top country songwriter, Barry talks about writing hits for Little Big Town, Tim McGraw and Jason Aldean.

Which Songs are About Drugs?

Which Songs are About Drugs?Fact or Fiction

"25 or 6 to 4" to "Semi-Charmed Life" - see if you can spot the songs that are really about drugs.

Taylor Dayne

Taylor DayneSongwriter Interviews

Taylor talks about "The Machine" - the hits, the videos and Clive Davis.

Donald Fagen

Donald FagenSongwriter Interviews

Fagen talks about how the Steely Dan songwriting strategy has changed over the years, and explains why you don't hear many covers of their songs.

Country Song Titles

Country Song TitlesFact or Fiction

Country songs with titles so bizarre they can't possibly be real... or can they?