Peak
26
Weeks
12
Score
1,399
Chart Year
1971
This song tells the story of a battle in olden times over a buried treasure. Both sides kill for it, willing to smite their neighbors for the promise of riches. After the battle, the victors find that under the stone covering what they think is the treasure is just the words "Peace on Earth." The song's message is that human greed and violence is futile - a "tin soldier" is a miniature toy soldier, representing the inhuman aspect of the pursuit. >> The songwriting team of Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter wrote this. They wrote songs for Dusty Springfield, The Four Tops and Glen Campbell. In 1969, this was a #34 US hit for a short-lived Canadian band called Original Caste as simply "One Tin Soldier." Original Caste's version reached US #34 and went to #1 in Canada. This was recorded for the 1971 independent film Billy Jack. Coven lead singer Jinx Dawson was the only member of the band to perform on the movie version of the song that appears on the soundtrack; she got the gig singing it because Linda Ronstadt, who was the first choice, wasn't available. Dawson recorded a different version with Coven that appeared on their second, self-titled album. The song was popular during the Vietnam War, and was often heard as an anti-war anthem. In 1973, Coven released a re-recorded version of the song which reached US #79. In 1974, their version from 1971 was reissued, reaching US #73. >> 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." Neil Young made reference to "tin soldiers" in a similar fashion on the 1970 Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young track "Ohio," where he sings: Tin soldiers and Nixon's coming We're finally on our own That song is about the Kent State University shootings earlier that year in which members of the US National Guard shot and killed four unarmed students. The "tin solders" are the National Guardsmen in this case.
Listen children to a story That was written long ago 'Bout 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 who 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 N' all the riches buried there Now the valley cried in anger Mount your horses Draw your sword And they killed the mountain people So they won their just reward Now they stood beside the treasure On the mountain dark and red Turn the stone and which 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 who 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
| Week | Chart Date | Position | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sep 18, 1971 | 87 | 39 |
| 2 | Sep 25, 1971 | 80 | 46 |
| 3 | Oct 2, 1971 | 64 | 62 |
| 4 | Oct 9, 1971 | 52 | 74 |
| 5 | Oct 16, 1971 | 43 | 83 |
| 6 | Oct 23, 1971 | 41 | 85 |
| 7 | Oct 30, 1971 | 39 | 87 |
| 8 | Nov 6, 1971 | 30 | 96 |
| 9 | Nov 13, 1971 | 29 | 97 |
| 10 | Nov 20, 1971 | 27 | 99 |
| 11 | Nov 27, 1971 | 26 | 100 |
| 12 | Dec 4, 1971 | 30 | 96 |