Many years ago, I heard this song from Tim Hardin. Like most of his songs, it is very short. But no less powerful for that.
If you have ever experienced an emotional break up, this simple song will resonate with you. It might even make you cry.
James Timothy Hardin was an American folk and blues musician and composer. As well as releasing his own material, several of his songs, including “If I Were a Carpenter” and “Reason to Believe”, became hits for other artists. Hardin grew up in Oregon and joined the Marine Corps. He died young, aged 39, in 1980. After a short but troubled life.
You will know his songs, even if only from the numerous cover versions. He deserves to be better known.
I had a brief flirtation with Folk Music in my teens. Bob Dylan, Donovan, and some British Folk Groups like Fairport Convention and Steeleye Span.
Few of those songs stayed with me, and I rarely listen to any now.
But this song by Buffy Sainte-Marie (Covered by Donovan in the UK) is one that still has meaning to this day, and probably always will,
Here are the lyrics.
The Universal Soldier
Buffy Sainte-Marie
He’s five-foot-two and he’s six-feet-four
He fights with missiles and with spears
He’s all of thirty-one and he’s only seventeen
He’s been a soldier for a thousand years
He’s a catholic, a Hindu, an Atheist, a Jane
A Buddhist and a Baptist and Jew
And he knows he shouldn’t kill
And he knows he always will kill
You’ll for me my friend and me for you
And he’s fighting for Canada, he’s fighting for France
He’s fighting for the USA
And he’s fighting for the Russians and he’s fighting for Japan
And he thinks we’ll put an end to war this way
And he’s fighting for democracy, he’s fighting for the reds
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’ve stood alone
He’s the one who gives his body as the weapon of the war
And without him, all this killing can’t go on
He’s the universal soldier and he really is to blame
His orders come from far away no more
They come from him and you and me
And brothers, can’t you see
This is not the way we put an end to war?
Two songs this time, and for a reason. They signify the beginning, and end, of my long relationship with the band, Fleetwood Mac. By 1968, I was aware that John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers were splitting up all over the place, with former members starting up their own groups, and often heading in different directions. Few groups in the history of popular music have gone through as many incarnations as Fleetwood Mac. Band members have come and gone, and there have been splits, farewell tours, comeback tours, and retrospectives. Originally formed as far back as 1967, the present line up continues to this day, under the same name, with original members. Few others have endured forty-seven years in the music business, and can still play to packed houses. This puts Fleetwood Mac in the same company as The Rolling Stones, and the surviving Beatles, as well as the Beach Boys.
In 1969, I heard a single release by the founding line-up. Peter Green, a marvellous Blues artist, and amazing guitarist, wrote this song, ‘Man Of the World’, and it enjoyed considerable success. The plaintive tones, perfect vocals, and quiet guitar suggest a love song, but breaks in the style also show the Blues roots behind it. They went on to release more big-selling singles, with the song ‘Oh Well’ indicating the path that the band was taking. However, Peter Green was soon to leave the band, plagued with mental health issues that kept him away from the music scene for decades. The band added Christine McVie as a keyboard player and vocalist, and continued to record. In 1974, Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks joined the band, and huge success was just around the corner.
With Nicks’ big hair, flowing skirts, and distinctly American vocal, the group took a completely different route. The Blues was forgotten, and folk-rock became the order of the day, capturing the mood of the time, and delivering massive worldwide hits, like ‘Say You Love Me’, and ‘Rhiannon’. At much the same time, the personal lives of those in the group began to attract just as much attention. Writers seemed to be more interested in who was sleeping together, than in the musical output. Fleetwood Mac were in danger of becoming a cooler version of Abba, with relationship issues amongst band members threatening to break them up. Christine and John McVie were splitting up, Mick Fleetwood was getting a divorce, and the long relationship between Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham also came to an end.
Amazingly, they endured these upheavals, and in 1977, went on to release the album ‘Rumours’. This is one of the best-selling albums of all time, with almost fifty million copies sold. It won numerous awards, and contained songs that almost everyone on the planet can recognise, including ‘Don’t Stop’, and ‘Go Your Own Way’. Fleetwood Mac had arrived in the mainstream, and could sell out any stadium or arena in the world. I was less impressed. As a fan of the earlier, Blues influenced music, I considered this to be something of a sell-out, and once it seemed that everyone had a copy of ‘Rumours’, I lost interest in the band, and could not get excited by the direction they were going in.
For the next ten years., they were unstoppable, and became a household name. Then, in 1987, they released their last album with the then current line-up, ‘Tango In The Night’. By then, Lindsey Buckingham was the inspirational force behind the group, and the track ‘Big Love’ caught my attention. This was more like it. Great beat, fine guitar, and superb vocals. It wasn’t really Fleetwood Mac anymore, but it would do for me. Sadly, that was the last song that I ever liked. Buckingham left the group, and though they continued to record, the magic was long gone.
Here is the original group, with ‘Man Of The World’, from 1969, and the official video of ‘Big Love’, from 1987.
beetleypete 