Universal Soldier was originally written and recorded by Buffy Sainte-Marie. The song explores individual responsibility of war. First Aid Kit’s cover is a slightly edited version of the original to make the lyrics more relevant to today’s society. This cover was created because sisters Johanna and...
He's five foot two and he’s six feet four
He fights with missiles and with spears
He's all of 31 and he's only 17
Been a soldier for a thousand years
He’s a Christian, a Hindu, an atheist, a Jain
A Buddhist and a Muslim 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 Palestine, he's fighting for Israel
He's fighting for the USA
And he's fighting for the Russians and he's fighting for Iraq
And he thinks we'll put an end to war this way
And he’s fighting for democracy, he’s fighting for his soul
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 wall
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 killing can’t go on, no
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, no
Universal Soldier was written by Buffy Sainte-Marie.
Universal Soldier was produced by Jack White.
First Aid Kit released Universal Soldier on Tue Jan 18 2011.