Artist	Song
audio clip	"For democracy, any man would give his only begotten son."
Belle & Sebastian	I Fought In A War
audio clip	"...this young man will be as unthinking, as unfeeling as the dead until the day he joins them."
Mazzy Star	Into Dust
Spokane	Able Bodies
audio clip	"What is democracy?" "...it's got something to do with young men k_illing each other, I believe."
Bruce Springsteen	My Father's House
audio clip	"There's a game out there...and once you've lost there's no way back. No way at all."
Crooked Fingers	Broken Man
audio clip	"...I've got lots of trains to handle. Lots of dead men. So many dead men, you wouldn't believe it."
Tom Waits	Down There By the Train
Antony & the Johnsons	I Fell In Love With A Dead Boy (edit)
audio clip	"It's Morse code." "For what?" "S.O.S. 'Help.'" "Do you mean to tell me that this man is actually...speaking to us?"
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club	Rifles
audio clip	"I'm having a nightmare that says I'm real. Wake me up, mother, and tell me I'm not real."
Sonic Youth	The Ineffable Me
audio clip	"What's he saying?" "He says, 'K_ill me.' Over and over again, 'K_ill me.'"
The Earlies	One of Us Is Dead
audio clip	"I guess it always comes down to that. Each man faces death by himself. Alone."
Billy Bragg	My Youngest Son Came Home Today
Clark Gault et al	When Johnny Comes Marching Home

Comment:

Dalton Trumbo's novel, Johnny Got His Gun, was originally published in 1939, on the cusp of World War II. Thirty-two years later, in 1971, Trumbo himself wrote the screenplay for and directed the film adaptation. It gained additional exposure in 1989 when clips of the film were used in the music video for Metallica's song, "One," which was written about the film. Apparently, rather than negotiate for use of the clips, the band simply bought the rights to the film.
The film tells the story of Joe Bonham, a young American soldier who has been severely injured in World War I. Prior to the be_ginning of the film, he is hit by a shell and loses not only his arms and legs, but also his eyes, ears, mouth, and nose. The doctors believe Joe to be in a vegetative state, but he has retained his consciousness and ability to reason. However, he is wholly unable to communicate with the outside world. As the film progresses, carried along by his inner monologue, Joe drifts through memories and nightmares as he attempts to cope with being trapped within his own body. Among Joe's visions are recollections and images of his girlfrie_nd, Kareen, and of his childhood with his father. He also envisions himself and other doomed soldiers talking with Jesus (played by Donald Sutherland), who ushers the soldiers onto a train of the dead. With Jesus at the helm, the train hurtles into oblivion.
Joe finally receives benevolence from a kind nurse, and he manages to communicate with the doctors by twitching his head in Morse code. He asks that he be placed in a freak show, so that people can view him as an example of the horrors of war. However, he soon realizes that the doctors will not grant his request, and instead asks to be euthanized. This request, likewise, goes ungranted and Joe comes to the horrid realization that he will likely remain in his current state for the rest of his life.

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