"
Universal Soldier" is a song written and recorded by Canadian
singer-songwriterA singer–songwriter is a musician who writes, composes and sings their own material including lyrics and melodies. They often provide the sole accompaniment to an entire composition or song, typically using a guitar or piano...
Buffy Sainte-MarieBuffy Sainte-Marie, OC is an Academy Award-winning Canadian First Nations musician, composer, visual artist, pacifist, educator and social activist.-Personal life:...
. The song was originally released on Sainte-Marie's debut album
It's My Way!It’s My Way is first album by folk singer Buffy Sainte-Marie. It is most famous for two widely-covered folk standards, "Universal Soldier" and "Cod'ine", as well as "Now That the Buffalo's Gone", a lament at the ecological devastation of the Great Plains...
in 1964. "Universal Soldier" was not a popular hit at the time of its release, but it did garner attention within the contemporary
folk musicThe term folk music originated in the 19th century as a term for musical folklore. It has been defined in several ways; as music transmitted by word of mouth, music of the lower classes, music with no known composer...
community. Sainte-Marie said of the song: "I wrote 'Universal Soldier' in the basement of The Purple Onion coffee house in
TorontoToronto is the most populous city in Canada and the provincial capital of Ontario. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. With over 2.5 million residents, it is the fifth most populous municipality in North America...
in the early sixties. It's about individual responsibility for war and how the old feudal thinking kills us all".
Donovan cover
By 1965 the song had caught the attention of budding folk singer
DonovanDonovan , is a Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist. Emerging from the British folk scene, he developed an eclectic and distinctive style that blended folk, jazz, pop, psychedelia, and world music...
, who recorded it utilizing a similar arrangement to Buffy Sainte-Marie's original recording. Donovan's recording was released on an
EPAn extended play is a vinyl record, CD, or music download which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as an LP. Usually, a CD single has around 10–28 minutes of music, an EP has up to 36 minutes, and an album generally has 30–80 minutes. Mini-LPs generally contain 20–30...
titled
The Universal Soldier in the United Kingdom (15 August 1965, Pye NEP 24219). The EP continued Donovan's run of high charting releases in the UK by reaching #5 on the charts. Tracks on the EP: "Universal Soldier"; "The Ballad of a Crystal Man" b/w "Do You Hear Me Now" (
Bert JanschHerbert Jansch , known as Bert Jansch, is a Scottish folk musician and founding member of the band Pentangle. He was born in Glasgow and, in the 1960s, he was heavily influenced by the guitarist Davey Graham and folk singers such as Anne Briggs...
); "The War Drags On" (Mick Softley)
The lack of interest in the EP format within the United States led Hickory Records to release the song as a single in September 1965 (Hickory 45-1338). Donovan's cover of "Universal Soldier" was backed with another track from the British EP, Bert Jansch's "Do You Hear Me Now?".
Donovan's USA single release of "Universal Soldier" (released 9/1965, b/w "Do You Hear Me Now?", Hickory 45-1338) also became a hit, charting higher than his previous single "Colours" and ultimately reaching #53 on the Billboard charts. This success led Hickory Records to include the song on the United States release of Donovan's second album
FairytaleFairytale is the second album from Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan. It was first released in the United Kingdom on October 22, 1965 through Pye Records . The U.S. version of Fairytale was released by Hickory Records in November 1965 with a slightly different set of songs...
, replacing a cover of Bert Jansch's "Oh Deed I Do".
Other covers
The HighwaymenThe Highwaymen were a circa 1960 "collegiate folk" group, which originated at Wesleyan University and had a Billboard number-one hit in 1961 with "Michael" and another top-20 hit in 1962 with "Cottonfields". The original members were David Fisher, Steve Trott, Chan Daniels, Steve Butts and Bob...
,
Glen CampbellGlen Travis Campbell is a Grammy and Dove Award-winning and two time Golden Globe-nominated American country pop singer, guitarist and occasional actor...
,
Joan BaezJoan Chandos Baez is a folk singer and songwriter known for her highly individual vocal style...
,
Phil OchsPhilip David Ochs was a U.S. protest singer and songwriter who was known for his sharp wit, sardonic humor, earnest humanism, political activism, insightful and alliterative lyrics, and haunting voice...
and
ChumbawambaChumbawamba is an English band. Over a 27-year career, the band plays music ranging from pop-influenced dance music, a cappella/choral music and world music to acoustic folk music....
also covered the song.
The Finnish folk singer Hector (real name Heikki Harma) recorded a cover version with lyrics in Finnish, as "Palkkasoturi" ("The Mercenary") in 1965, as his debut single.
Dutch singer/songwriter
Boudewijn de GrootBoudewijn de Groot is one of the most famous Dutch singer/songwriters. He is known for the songs "Welterusten Meneer de President" , "Land van Maas en Waal" , "Jimmy" and "Avond" among others...
covered the song in Dutch, called "De eeuwige soldaat". The lyrics are translated almost literally.
Juliane Werding did a German cover: "Der Ewige Soldat".
Jan Berry of
Jan and DeanJan and Dean were a rock and roll duo, popular from the late 1950s through the mid 1960s, consisting of William Jan Berry and Dean Ormsby Torrence...
recorded a version of the song with the lyrics changed to match the opposite point of view, titled "The Universal Coward" (Dean Torrence objected and did not participate). It was released as a single in 1965.
Smithsonian
An article
Kilroy Was Here, in the October 2004 edition of
SmithsonianSmithsonian is a monthly magazine published by the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. The first issue was published in 1970. It is edited by Carey Winfrey.-History:...
, failed to recognize the lyrics of the song, written on a cot from a
Vietnam WarThe Vietnam War or the Second Indochina War was a Cold War military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1959 to 30 April 1975...
era troopship. The error was caught and commented on by more than 285 readers.
External links