Universal Soldier

Annotation — Australian & New Zealand Songs

Singer/songwriter / pop folk artist, born in 1942, Adelaide, Australia. He covered of the famous contemporary folk anti-war song "Universal Soldier" (CBS # BP 233283), composed by Buffy Sainte-Marie, and released on her 1964 album It's My Way!. Covered by dozens, if not hundreds, of artists, this version, released in 1965, as Australia was sending troops to Vietnam, is a good representation of the contemporary protest, anti-war scene.12 The lyrics take a critical view of the individual soldier, who justified the war, as "fighting for Democracy and fighting for the Reds". Many protest songs took a different perspective, placing the blame on the government and military, while viewing the soldiers as innocent pawns. Jan Berry wrote a well-known patriotic and anti-protest response / answer record to this song in 1965: "The Universal Coward". Sources1americansongwriter.com: Buffy sainte marie universal soldier↩2Wikipedia: Universal Soldier (song)↩

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Lyrics

English: "He's five feet two and he's six feet four / He fights with missiles and with spears / He's all of 31 and he's only 17 / He's been a soldier for a thousand years / He's a Catholic, a Hindu, an atheist a Jain / A Buddhist and a Baptist and a Jew / And he knows he shouldn't kill / And he knows he always will / Kill you for me my friend and me for you / And he's fighting for Canada / He's fighting for France / He's fighting for the USA / And he's fighting for the Russians / And he's fighting for Japan / And he thinks we'll put an end to war this way / And he's fighting for Democracy / And fighting for the Reds / He says it's for the peace of all / He's the one who must decide / Who's to live and who's to die / And he never sees the writing on the walls / But without him how would Hitler have / Condemned him at Dachau / Without him Caesar would have stood alone / He's the one who gives his body / As a weapon to a war / And without him all this killing can't go on / He's the universal soldier and he really is to blame / His orders come from far away no more / They come from him, and you, and me / And brothers can't you see / This is not the way we put an end to war"

About the artist

Doug Ashdown - singer-songwriter and pop-folk artist, born 1942, Adelaide, South Australia.

Themes

Anti-War

In collections

Australian & New Zealand Songs · Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]