Even though I am an innately political person with extremely strong views, I try to keep politics out of this blog. That isn’t always possible, however, because much of the music of the past sixty years has been overtly political. Think Bob Dylan (“The Times They Are a Changin’“), Marvin Gaye (“What’s Going On“), Edwin Starr (“War“), Creedence Clearwater Revival (“Fortunate Son“), even U2 and Bruce Springsteen in more recent times.
Today’s classic song of the day is one of those political protest tunes. It’s “Universal Soldier” by Buffy Sainte-Marie, and it’s a plea to all citizens to put an end to war. We, all citizens, are the universal soldier and we enable the killing by blindly following our leaders into war. As the lyrics put it:
He’s five foot-two, and he’s six feet-four
He fights with missiles and with spears
He’s all of thirty-one
And he’s only seventeen
He’s been a soldier for a thousand years
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 of the war
And without him all this killin’ 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 here and there and you and me
And brothers can’t you see
This is not the way we put the end to war?
Buffy Sainte-Marie wrote “Universal Soldier” way back in 1962, when the Vietnam War wasn’t yet called the Vietnam War. She was inspired to write the song while on a layover San Francisco International Airport, where she witnessed numerous wounded American soldiers arriving from the Far East. In her own words:
“It’s about the personal responsibility of all of us. Because we can’t blame just the soldier for the war, or just the career military officer, or just the politician. We have to blame ourselves too since we are living in an era where we actually elect our politicians.”
“Universal Soldier” was particularly relevant in the 1960s, during the Vietnam War era. But it’s also relevant today, with the threat of the U.S. government sending soldiers to fight in Central America and elsewhere—even against their fellow citizens in American cities. If there’s another war on the horizon, internationally or domestically, it’s we the people who are to blame. Only we can stop the folly of our warmongering leaders. Only us.
The first recording of “Universal Soldier” was released by the Highwaymen in September of 1963. Ms. Sainte-Marie released her own version on her 1964 debut album, It’s My Way!. But it was Donovan who took the song mainstream; his single, released in August of 1965 (when the military action in Vietnam was seeing a major escalation), reached #53 on the Billboard Hot 100, #21 on the Canadian charts, and #5 in the UK.
Interestingly, Glen Campbell also released a version of “Universal Soldier” in 1965. His single charted slightly higher than Donovan’s in the U.S., reaching #45 on the Billboard Hot 100. It also reached #21 in Canada and #16 in Australia.
No matter who sings it, “Universal Soldier” is an anti-war song. More people today should listen to it—and learn from it.
