Musitorial - Tin Soldiers

 

Musitorial n mashing music, musings and editorials, music and song that evokes thought and commentary.

Next week’s (Dec. 9 2024) musitorial is inspired by the evening newscasts this past week. Headline events were not singular to this week but practically every week.

“One Tin Soldier” was used in the film The Legend of Billy Jack (1969), which I recall as a kind of rallying cry to young people of my generation who saw the deep flaws in Western societies during the Vietnam War era. The song’s sentiment goes beyond Vietnam, of course, and was for a short time a kind of mantra of the anti-war movement of the day. Sadly, world events haven’t changed all that much.

I’ve included just the refrain below, but hear (pun intended) is a link to the recording (on YouTube) and one to info about the film. If you’d like to see my editorial on the ebb and flow of international aggression, see https://mike-r-hunter.blogspot.com/2024/11/essay-ebb-and-flo-hapless-romantics.html

Link to the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDeRkJcFBOg

Link to info about the film: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Jack

“One Tin Soldier” (The Legend of Billy Jack) lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group (1969)

Recorded by Coven; songwriters, Brian Potter / Dennis Earle Lambert

Refrain:

Go ahead and hate your neighbor

Go ahead and cheat a friend

Do it in the name of heaven

You can justify it in the end

There won't be any trumpets blowing

Come the judgment day

On the bloody morning after

One tin soldier rides away

=30=