"One Tin Soldier" is a 1960s counterculture era anti-war song written by Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter. Canadian pop group The Original Caste (consisting of Dixie Lee Innes, Bruce Innes, Graham Bruce, Joseph Cavender and Bliss Mackie) first recorded it in 1969 Its debut—ranked #1 of 50 new "Singles Coming Up" by Record World—got "solid heavy airplay"... promptly selling 7,500 copies in Denver, alone.
The song, recorded by various artists, charted each year from 1969 to 1974 on various charts in the United States and Canada.
"One Tin Soldier" went to number 6 on the RPM Magazine charts, hit the number 1 position on CHUM AM in Toronto on 27 December 1969, and The Original Caste version reached number 34 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart in 1969. It was a bigger hit on the Billboard Easy Listening Chart (Adult Contemporary), reaching number 25 and number 5 on the Canada Adult Contemporary Chart.
A 1971 cover was a hit in the U.S. for Jinx Dawson, lead vocalist of Coven, whose recording was featured in the film Billy Jack. (another source says the 1971 Coven version peaked at 34 on the Billboard list Davis received a Grammy nomination for Best Female Country Vocal Performance, for her recording of "One Tin Soldier".
Harmony
"One Tin Soldier" has been said to have the same harmonic base as Pachelbel's Canon. The intro is pulled directly from Pachelbel's Canon with the first seven chords of "One Tin Soldier" matching those of Pachelbel's Canon. However, the two pieces diverge at the eighth chord and eighth note of each part, respectively. The remainder of "One Tin Soldier" merely has some aural similarities in the verses and has several significantly different chords.
Lyrics synopsis
"One Tin Soldier" describes the story of two fictional Kingdoms: the Mountain People, a peaceful group who possess a great treasure, and the Valley People, a warlike group who desire the treasure for themselves.
The Valley People send a demand for the treasure to the Mountain People; in reply, the Mountain People offer to share it. The Valley People angrily refuse the offer and declare war on the Mountain People, resulting in genocide of the latter. Once the treasure is located, it is revealed that it is actually a boulder inscribed with "peace on earth" on the bottom, implying the invasion was pointless.
Coven version
Singer Jinx Dawson of the band Coven performed the song at a 1971 session with the film's orchestra as part of the soundtrack for the Warner Bros. film Billy Jack. Dawson asked that her band, Coven, be listed on the recording and film, not her name as a solo artist. This Warner release, titled as "One Tin Soldier (The Legend of Billy Jack)", reached number 26 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the fall of 1971.
| style="text-align:center;"|5
|-
|Canada RPM Top Singles
| style="text-align:center;"|6
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|U.S. Billboard Hot 100
| style="text-align:center;"|45
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|Canada RPM Top Singles
| style="text-align:center;"|89
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|Canada RPM Adult Contemporary
| style="text-align:center;"|32
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|U.S. Billboard Hot 100
| style="text-align:center;"|2
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|Canada RPM Country
| style="text-align:center;"|4
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|U.S. Billboard Country
|align="center"|68
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; Original Caste (2nd charting)
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!Chart (1973)
!Peak<br />position
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|Canada RPM Top Singles
|align="center"|45
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|}
; Coven (3rd charting)
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!Chart (1974)
!Peak<br />position
|-
|Canada RPM Top Singles
| style="text-align:center;"|79
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|U.S. Billboard Hot 100
|align="center"|73
|-
|}
Other recordings
In 1969, British singer Karen Young recorded it, reaching 74 on the Australian charts.
A version recorded by Guy Chandler (titled "One Tin Soldier [The Legend of Billy Jack]") was released in the summer of 1973.
A version sung by Cher, with a video created by animator John David Wilson was produced for The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour.
Roseanne Barr parodied the song on her 1990 album I Enjoy Being a Girl.
Delores Laughlin sang an abbreviated version of the song during the end credits of the film sequel Billy Jack Goes to Washington (1977).
The song has been covered by other artists, including Billy Strings, Mad Parade, Gimp, Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, Bushman, and Killdozer. Actress Brittany Murphy, in character as Luanne Platter, sang the song on the King of the Hill soundtrack. This song was also covered by Voices for Peace, a band consisting of a group of voice actors including Greg Ayres and Tiffany Grant. Abigail and Milly Shapiro covered the song for their live album Live Out Loud.
Toronto hardcore punk band Direct Action included a cover of the song on their Trapped in a World LP (1985).
Awards and recognition
In 1972, "One Tin Soldier" was one of the 99 most-performed songs in the BMI repertoire licensed for public performance. Accordingly, BMI awarded Citations of Achievement to writers Lambert and Potter, and publisher ABC/Dunhill Music, Inc.
Skeeter Davis' 1972 recording earned her a Grammy nomination for Best Female Country Vocal Performance.
See also
- List of anti-war songs
References
External links
Key performances
- "The Original Caste" recording on YouTube; Bell/Columbia label.
- "The Original Caste" version on YouTube, illustrated with an animation copied from Cher video (listed below).
- "The Original Caste" live performance on YouTube, illustrated with band photos.
- "The Original Caste" band recording, on YouTube, provided by music distributor The Orchard Enterprises; labeled "One Tin Soldier (Theme from Billy Jack)," with photo of single cover labeled "Billy Jack". Note: This may be a confused listing—possibly a Coven version, instead.
- One Tin Soldier - The Legend of Billy Jack on YouTube ("Billy Jack" Original Sound Track), credited to "Coven", but only including their lead singer, Jinx Dawson, with the film’s studio orchestra. Warner Bros. label (also at: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8JtNHGSO3s&list=RDo8JtNHGSO3s&start_radio=1&rv=cTBx-hHf4BE])
- "Coven" band - MGM 1971 release on YouTube (the chart-leading version); also at: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62qVfL3rJ4A&list=RD62qVfL3rJ4A&start_radio=1]
- Skeeter Davis recording on YouTube; RCA label
- Skeeter Davis performance on YouTube: video of her singing the song, live, on the stage of The Midnight Special TV music series, April 6, 1973; includes printed lyrics.
- Cher, in mix with "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear", Sonny and Cher Show, 1970s Christmas TV program. Illustrated with animation.
- Karen Young recording, Great Britain, 1969, on YouTube