5 Meanings
Add Yours
Follow
Share
Q&A
One Tin Soldier Lyrics
Listen, children, to a story
That was written long ago
Of a kingdom on a mountain
And the valley folk below.
On the mountain was a treasure
Buried deep beneath a stone
And the valley people swore
They'd have it for their very own.
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.
So the people of the valley
Sent a message up the hill
Asking for the buried treasure,
Tons of gold for which they'd kill.
Came an answer from the kingdom,
"With our brothers we will share
All the secrets of our mountain
All the riches buried there."
Now the valley cried with anger,
"Mount your horses, draw your swords,"
And the killed the mountain people.
So they won their just reward.
Now they stood beside the treasure
On the mountain, dark and red,
Turned the stone and looked beneath it,
"Peace on earth," was all it said.
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.
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.
That was written long ago
Of a kingdom on a mountain
And the valley folk below.
Buried deep beneath a stone
And the valley people swore
They'd have it for their very own.
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.
Sent a message up the hill
Asking for the buried treasure,
Tons of gold for which they'd kill.
"With our brothers we will share
All the secrets of our mountain
All the riches buried there."
"Mount your horses, draw your swords,"
And the killed the mountain people.
So they won their just reward.
On the mountain, dark and red,
Turned the stone and looked beneath it,
"Peace on earth," was all it said.
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.
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.
Add your song meanings, interpretations, facts, memories & more to the community.
is this a joke? i dont think the song writer is trying to tell you HOW judgement day is or is not going to happen.
first of all, its simply (and certainly not maliciously) using the Christian concept of Judgement Day to convey a point. its just a metaphor/story/poem. its not trying to change what you believe about the actual judgement day.
second of all, for someone upset about how Christian beliefs are being treated, you attacked this songs meaning rather violently. where is the "peace on Earth", my fellow brother of Christ? this song is saying that the most valuable treasure is peace on Earth.
Go ahead and hate your neighbor, Go ahead and cheat a friend. - just go ahead and do bad things that you know are wrong. Do it in the name of Heaven, - every single person has a different idea of what Heaven is. this is saying when you do these actions, just do it in the name of what you believe Heaven to be... You can justify it in the end. - ...because when you when you ultimately die (in the end), you will be able to justify your actions because you did it in the name of what you believed to be right. There won't be any trumpets blowing Come the judgement day,- trumpets blowing can used symbolically for beholding power or glory. in terms of the judgement day, corinthians and thessolonians say that these trumpets are what call people "into the air" to join Christ in everlasting life. this is the kicker for your argument for this song being anti-christian in anyway. its saying that when that man who cheated friends and hated neighbors is ultimately judged, he is not justified. there are no trumpets calling him to any type of Heaven or salvation. On the bloody morning after.... One tin soldier rides away. - the sinning man, justified only in his own eyes, is damned to earth and hollow as tin. to God, to Christ, to others in Heaven, there is no justification for his evil actions.
Unfortunately Otis no, everyone doesn't get it. And that's no joke. You put it to words amazingly. Thanks.
Unfortunately Otis no, everyone doesn't get it. And that's no joke. You put it to words amazingly. Thanks.
I don't think the lyrics need any explanation, most of us are intelligent enough to get its message of peace and camaraderie in favour of violence, greed, and evil....such a meaningful and beautiful song. I only wish the world could be better modeled on the example set in this tale
I sang this song on a sailing trip; a beautiful memory
I'm very well aware the song is a fable, and it's a powerfully emotional one. Lambert and Potter did a fine job of marrying the lyrics to a melody suitable to the passion of their lyrics.
But besides being shamelessly manipulative, the moral hangs by one skinny thread: The Mountain People are complete idiots. Let us get this straight: Your valley counterparts are psychos propelled by avarice to slaughter for fortune. The sum total of the Mountain People's "treasure" is a big ol' rock that reads "Peace On Earth" on the bottom or inscribed in the earth. Now, setting aside questions like...
It seems to me that all they had to do was let the Valley People come up the hill, turn over the rock and say, "That's it. That's the treasure." Then they could let the Valley People search to their hearts' content- yeah, out of line and invasive, but the alternative was the slaughter of their village. SO- THE "REAL" MORAL OF THE STORY IS THIS: Don't play coy with psychos.
@BurningOldSage Sorry, mr. Sage, but if they had showed the up-turned rock, as you pointed out, they wouldn't have believed them... and instead of looking, they would have tortured all alive to tell "where it was moved to" ... NO, the story is true, an empty victory and proof the valley will never be satisfied... "give a foot, they'll demand both arms"
@BurningOldSage Sorry, mr. Sage, but if they had showed the up-turned rock, as you pointed out, they wouldn't have believed them... and instead of looking, they would have tortured all alive to tell "where it was moved to" ... NO, the story is true, an empty victory and proof the valley will never be satisfied... "give a foot, they'll demand both arms"
@BurningOldSage gaswhiz- You have no clue. You call Tony an idiot because you BELIEVE the Dennis Lambert that wrote this song is the same Evangelical Catholic Deacon Dennis Lambert. He is not. On top of that Deacon Dennis Lambert didn't become a deacon until 2004. FCS, pal. Your insight is as false as your knowledge.
@BurningOldSage gaswhiz- You have no clue. You call Tony an idiot because you BELIEVE the Dennis Lambert that wrote this song is the same Evangelical Catholic Deacon Dennis Lambert. He is not. On top of that Deacon Dennis Lambert didn't become a deacon until 2004. FCS, pal. Your insight is as false as your knowledge.
In response to my interpretation. The writers of the song and the lead singer at the time the song was written were self proclaimed worshippers of the occult. They said it themselves. This is from an article I read. Coven were practitioners of black magic and the occult - for real. Jinx Dawson describes herself as a "Left Hand Path High Priestess and Ceremonial Mage." Their first album, released in 1969, is one of the earliest examples of occult rock, with a track called "Satanic Mass" that the band claims is a recording of an actual black mass that they performed. The album is the first where band members are shown flashing the devil horns hand gesture.
"One Tin Soldier" is far removed from this subject, but Dawson thinks it fits her ethos. "I never understood it to be a peace/love song," she told Pop Culture Addict. "If one listens to the words, '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,' I heard it as hypocrisy toward the church, which of course is exactly how I was brought up." She meant it to be a mockery of Christianity
@Tonyinflorida YOU JUST PROVED YOU'RE AN IDIOT! Coven didn't write nor "SUNG" the song. COVEN COVERED THE SONG for the movie, which originally was sung by "Original Caste" about 3 years earlier it was co-written by Dennis Lambert, a Catholic deacon soon after meeting Brian August Potter in London(1969) about a year after Dennis mustered out of the Vietnam War (circa 1967-1968) thus it definitely was an anti-war song and commentary on the futility of war (EDITOR: a war that USA GOVERNMENT refused to win)
@Tonyinflorida YOU JUST PROVED YOU'RE AN IDIOT! Coven didn't write nor "SUNG" the song. COVEN COVERED THE SONG for the movie, which originally was sung by "Original Caste" about 3 years earlier it was co-written by Dennis Lambert, a Catholic deacon soon after meeting Brian August Potter in London(1969) about a year after Dennis mustered out of the Vietnam War (circa 1967-1968) thus it definitely was an anti-war song and commentary on the futility of war (EDITOR: a war that USA GOVERNMENT refused to win)
here is the original song with lyrics https://youtu.be/cTBx-hHf4BE?si=09KJ2-8pFgPEzVw1...
here is the original song with lyrics https://youtu.be/cTBx-hHf4BE?si=09KJ2-8pFgPEzVw1
@Tonyinflorida - Holy crap. Look at this guy's (gaswiz) apoplectic proselytizing. Apparently another "Christian" who was pro-bloodbath in Viet Nam.
@Tonyinflorida - Holy crap. Look at this guy's (gaswiz) apoplectic proselytizing. Apparently another "Christian" who was pro-bloodbath in Viet Nam.
What a satanic song.
I'm not kidding. Look at these words:
Go ahead and hate your neighbor. Go ahead and cheat your friend. Do it in the name of Heaven, you can justify it in the end. There won't be any trumpets blowing come the Judgement Day On the bloody mountain after one tin soldier rides away.
Excuse me, Judgement Day is the FINAL JUDGEMENT by Jehovah God of every soul; only the ones who believe on Jesus will be justified, while the sinners who do not know Jesus Christ will be judged "...every man according to their works..." and "...whosoever's name is not written in the Book of Life will be cast into the Lake of Fire."
I'll say the chorus is street-talk blasphemy. Enough said.
You took the lyrics to literally. Read Otisupham's response. He is obviously Christian and very educated in religion. This is a song that is dead opposite of anti Christian. It is the basis of any religion that believes in God and life ever after.
You took the lyrics to literally. Read Otisupham's response. He is obviously Christian and very educated in religion. This is a song that is dead opposite of anti Christian. It is the basis of any religion that believes in God and life ever after.
@NoiseIsNotMusic99
i came here to find the meaning of the song, not to hear that you don't agree with it.
@NoiseIsNotMusic99
i came here to find the meaning of the song, not to hear that you don't agree with it.
@bmorgil @isaac10846
@bmorgil @isaac10846
Geeeeezus, I did this? Lol I was like 12 back then, I had such a hard on for religion as a fundamentalist back then, and this is WAY over the top. I apologize for that guys, I was just stupid and opinionated about everything.
Geeeeezus, I did this? Lol I was like 12 back then, I had such a hard on for religion as a fundamentalist back then, and this is WAY over the top. I apologize for that guys, I was just stupid and opinionated about everything.
@NoiseIsNotMusic99 I think this is the first time I've seen the heavy-handed religious type take it back. Good on ya, Noise - wish more would do the same on such occasions.
@NoiseIsNotMusic99 I think this is the first time I've seen the heavy-handed religious type take it back. Good on ya, Noise - wish more would do the same on such occasions.
@goldsac Yeah man, I do too. I'm not even remotely religious anymore, however I really appreciate this song. I was like 12 when I wrote the comment. I'm 18 now, things change when you hopefully grow up.
@goldsac Yeah man, I do too. I'm not even remotely religious anymore, however I really appreciate this song. I was like 12 when I wrote the comment. I'm 18 now, things change when you hopefully grow up.
@NoiseIsNotMusic99 I feel the same way. Even after I stopped my seminary catechism my faith colored a lot of my lyrics. I was an insufferable twit, and my regret is many. If only I could go back and apologize to everyone I offended with my self-righteous, sanctimonious pronouncements.
@NoiseIsNotMusic99 I feel the same way. Even after I stopped my seminary catechism my faith colored a lot of my lyrics. I was an insufferable twit, and my regret is many. If only I could go back and apologize to everyone I offended with my self-righteous, sanctimonious pronouncements.