Soldier

So, going back in the catalog, one of my better songs is actually one of my older ones. You guys finally have something decent to read. w00t!

This song is called "Soldier," and it went through four or five iterations before it got to the point that it's at. There's about fifteen minutes separating me and one of those earlier iterations... if I feel up to it at the end of this (edit: as it turns out, yes), I'll write it.

And so, for the commentary... this song is not about anyone in particular. I just wrote it. There might be something behind it, but... You've got nothing on this soldier. And again, this is one of the first five songs I wrote. Not too bad if you ask me. It still stands strong as one of my favorites. If you must ask, though, it is about a guy leaving a woman for reasons that are only his own. They may not be obvious, and she may have treated him great, but there are things lying underneath that cannot be ignored. It makes sense in his mind... it's a shame that it doesn't in hers...

(And by the way, it's amazing how history repeats itself if you don't learn from your mistakes. I feel it's necessary to throw that in the sidebar because I look back at this song that I wrote almost ten years ago, and it's still relevant. Tsk, tsk.)

I feel that the words don't do the music justice. Early on, I always played in a percussive style that *kinda* made up for not having any accompaniment. This may sound weird, but the style is kinda Ani DiFranco-ish. Think "Gravel." She's rad. This song is rad. Whatevs...

I wrote his after playing the initial idea with my friend Charlie. I'll try and throw an old iteration after it...

Soldier

She came over all dressed in black
He gave a platinum sigh
She knew he was never coming back
Oh, no, no...

She came in with her wings tied to her back
No angel, No more
Feathers had fallen for the last time
He tried to walk away, she pushed him to the floor

You've got nothing on this soldier
But what if I told ya
That I would look the other way
That I would look the other way

She had wronged him once before
And then time and time again
With this last betrayal
His words a shotgun in her den

"Oh, where's my happy ending???"
He denies moderating
He feels desperation
In stop animation, paused by her...

You've got nothing on this soldier
But what if I told ya
That I would look the other way
I would look the other way
[repeat]

[She said this is how you kis her if you know that she's the one.
How he wishes that were true! How he wishes that were true!]

The bracketed lyrics at the end were added several years after the song was written. There was a girl that I completely adored that told me "this is how you kiss someone if you know that they're the one," and she... gave me an amazing kiss. I'll never forget it. She wasn't the one, it was a sham, but the kiss was amazing nonetheless. I fit those lyrics in occasionally when I'm playing live. Only a handful have witnessed it. ;-) (For the record, I've had better... but for the sheer moment... the romance, the poetic way she began, and under the stars with the waves behind us.... it was amazing. I played this song for her on the stage at the Windjammer in Charleston, SC, with the additional lines a few years ago.)

Ok... so... anyway, the old iteration. Parts of it are good... I wonder why certain lines/phrases didn't make it... But yeah, here ya go... see a part of the evolution.

She came over all dressed in black
he knew it wasn't good
she knew he was never coming back
no, no, no...

she walked in with her wings tied to her back
no angel, no more
a piece of her fell as he turned around
she pushed him to the floor

and i am walking away
never looking back
oh, i am walking away
no, never again

you're not leaving me, she said
as he walked away
you'll remember me, i know
her turned and went alone

and i am walking away
leaving here for good
and i don't want it anymore
oh no no

and something goes off in his mind
and it blows up in tears
can see it in his thoughts
all those wasted years

there's never gonna be another love
he's never gonna be here again
the years come forward, push him in
beat him down and sting his skin.

She struck him in the back again
the waves they come from
radiate within the light
he spins to his right

As the moments they burn like fire
It comes down to the wire.
All his anger and desire
the moments they burn like fire

and as i walk away
never looking back
turn and walk away
the like it fades to black.

(the grande finale)

Something alarms in his mind
(as i walk away)
not how it's supposed to end!
(never turning back)
the moments they blaze like fire
(so i walk away)
her wings can't take her higher
(no, no, no, no, no)

As the moments burn like fire
That he used to admire
Tides of anger and desire
The moments they burst into flames.
(yeah)