This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
Can I hear the story about the one-legged soldier?
Please?
And can you tell me the story of the soldier?
Please?
One more time
Or I'll knock your nose off
Not so long ago in a toy room not so far away
Lived a boy who had so many toys
And he didn't know what to do with them all
With them all, with them all
Well, his favorite of all the toys
Were the tin soldiers, the tin soldiers
And the one that he loved the most
Was the one with the missing leg
At night the toys would come alive
Or that's how the story is told
And there they met the soldier
With the missing leg
And the ballerina with the heart of gold
At night they would share each others dreams
Under the stars shining bright
But they were too shy
To speak of love, to speak of love
One day the boy sat them on the windowsill
To watch for the enemy coming over the hill
But when the wind it blew
It knocked him into the street
And the boys from the town they said
Won't you look at the one-legged soldier?
Let's stick him in a boat and send him far away
'Cause we can't find a use
For a soldier with a missing leg
And he was lonely, so lonely for a friend
And he was lonely, so lonely for a friend
He was so lonely, yeah
As he floated past a river rat
On his homemade boat
Well, the boat began to sink
And he sank to the bottom of the river
He got swallowed by a fish
Caught by a fisherman
Sold to the family of the boy who had the toys
And the cook said, look at the one-legged soldier
It looks just like the one we lost the other day
Could this be the boy's tin soldier with the missing leg?
But he was lonely, so lonely for a friend, oh
And he was lonely, so lonely for a friend
He was so lonely, yeah
Oh yeah so lonely, oh yeah
What about the ballerina?
As he sat on the mantle piece to dry from the river
The ballerina who held his heart sat at his side
And when they got up to dance with each other
She fell by the fire blazing bright
When he jumped to save her from the flames
Their bases began to melt into one and the same
And now they share each other's destiny
Together forever they will be
And they are no longer lonely for a friend
And they are no longer lonely for a friend
No longer lonely, yeah
No longer lonely
Whoa, whoa
Yeah, whoa
No longer lonely, yeah
Well, not so long ago in a toy room not so far away
Lived a boy who had so many toys
And he played with them all
With them all, with them all
Well, he had a ballerina and a one-legged soldier
Stuck together at the base
And they share each others destiny
As they sit on top of the mantel place
It's the story of the one-legged soldier
The story of the one-legged soldier
The story of the tin soldier
With the missing leg
Please?
And can you tell me the story of the soldier?
Please?
One more time
Or I'll knock your nose off
Not so long ago in a toy room not so far away
Lived a boy who had so many toys
And he didn't know what to do with them all
With them all, with them all
Well, his favorite of all the toys
Were the tin soldiers, the tin soldiers
And the one that he loved the most
Was the one with the missing leg
At night the toys would come alive
Or that's how the story is told
And there they met the soldier
With the missing leg
And the ballerina with the heart of gold
At night they would share each others dreams
Under the stars shining bright
But they were too shy
To speak of love, to speak of love
One day the boy sat them on the windowsill
To watch for the enemy coming over the hill
But when the wind it blew
It knocked him into the street
And the boys from the town they said
Won't you look at the one-legged soldier?
Let's stick him in a boat and send him far away
'Cause we can't find a use
For a soldier with a missing leg
And he was lonely, so lonely for a friend
And he was lonely, so lonely for a friend
He was so lonely, yeah
As he floated past a river rat
On his homemade boat
Well, the boat began to sink
And he sank to the bottom of the river
He got swallowed by a fish
Caught by a fisherman
Sold to the family of the boy who had the toys
And the cook said, look at the one-legged soldier
It looks just like the one we lost the other day
Could this be the boy's tin soldier with the missing leg?
But he was lonely, so lonely for a friend, oh
And he was lonely, so lonely for a friend
He was so lonely, yeah
Oh yeah so lonely, oh yeah
What about the ballerina?
As he sat on the mantle piece to dry from the river
The ballerina who held his heart sat at his side
And when they got up to dance with each other
She fell by the fire blazing bright
When he jumped to save her from the flames
Their bases began to melt into one and the same
And now they share each other's destiny
Together forever they will be
And they are no longer lonely for a friend
And they are no longer lonely for a friend
No longer lonely, yeah
No longer lonely
Whoa, whoa
Yeah, whoa
No longer lonely, yeah
Well, not so long ago in a toy room not so far away
Lived a boy who had so many toys
And he played with them all
With them all, with them all
Well, he had a ballerina and a one-legged soldier
Stuck together at the base
And they share each others destiny
As they sit on top of the mantel place
It's the story of the one-legged soldier
The story of the one-legged soldier
The story of the tin soldier
With the missing leg
Lyrics submitted by sunnybunnygirl
Soldier Lyrics as written by Taylor Hanson Isaac Hanson
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Songtrust Ave, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
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This is the cutest song. Especially in the beginning with the little boy's voice. Cute.
Cute, but.. this song wins the award for 'Song I Almost Always Skip Because It's So Dang Long'. :P Seriously. It's a nice story but goes on forever.. eh heh.
i luv this song! but zacster... its actually Hansons little sisters, Avery and Jessica, not a little boy, lol... i was never sure who was saying it either, 4 a while i thought maybe it was Zac putting on voices... but yea, i either read or heard them say its their sisters
You know, this was one of my favorite songs when I was a kid and was lonely. I used to love to read, even when I was young, but nobody would read to me. I listened to this song, and it felt like there was someone there with me. It's a song of comfort, really.